FORWARD  MISSION 
t   STUDY  COURSES  > 


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PRINCETON,   N.  J. 


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Purchased   by  the    Hamill    Missionary   Fund. 


BV  3503  .T3  1902 
Taylor,  S.  Earl  1873- 
The  price  of  Africa 


o 


The  Price  of  Africa 


S.  Earl   Taylor 


^ 


The    Forward    Mission    Study   Courses,   edited   by 

Professor  Amos  R.  Wells  and  Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor, 

adopted  as  the  official  text-books  for  mission 

study  classes  in  the  United  Society  of 

Christian   Endeavor  and   in 

the  Epworth  League 


MOTTO 

"Anywhere,  provided  it  be  FORWARD." 

— DAVID    LIVINGSTONE. 


CINCINNATI:    JENNINGS  &  PYE 
NEW  YORK:     EATON   &   MAINS 


COPYRIGHT,  1902,  BY 
AMOS  R.  WELLS  AND  S.  EARL  TAYLOR 


To  THE  Memory  of  That  Great  Host  Which  No 

Man  Can  Number,  Who  Have  Washed  Their 

Robes  and  Made  Them  White  in  the 

Blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  Who  Now 

Are  Before  the  Throne  of 

God,  Serving  Him  Day  and 

Night  in  His  Temple. 


''These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the 
promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and 
were  jiersuaded  of  them,  and  embraced  them, 
and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and 
■pilgrims  on  the  earth" — Heb,  xi,  13. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGB 

The  Price  of  Africa,         .        _        -        _        -  25 


CHAPTER  II. 
David  Livingstone,     ------  47 

CHAPTER  III. 
Adolphus  C.  Good,      ------  91 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Alexander  M.  Mackay,     -----        127 

CHAPTER  V. 
Melville  B.  Cox,        ------        161 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Why  this  Waste  ?.-----        193 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

God's  Acre— Uganda,  ...         Frontispiece 

David  Livingstone,  ----._    49 

Eev.  a.  C.  Good, 93 

Alexander  M.  Mackay,  -        _        _        .        _  129 

Melville  B.  Cox,     ---_.__  I63 
One  op  the  Many  Missionary  Graves  in  Africa,  -  195 


MAPS 

Livingstone's  First  Journey,  -        -        -        -    48 

Livingstone's  Second  Journey,  -  -  -  -  73 
Livingstone's  Third  Journey,  -  -  -  -  77 
Journeys  op  A.  C.  Good,  -        -        -       -       -    92 

Journeys  op  A.  M.  Mackay,  -----  128 
Railroad,  Cable,  and  Steamship  Map  of  Africa,  228 
Colored  Map  op  Africa,  -        -       _       _       _  232 

9 


PREFACE 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  bring 
within  the  reach  of  Mission  Study  Classes,  facts 
which  will  emphasize  the  great  cost  of  the  re- 
demption of  Africa,  and  which  will  show  in 
some  degree  how  well  the  investment  has  paid. 

'No  special  claim  to  originality  is  made  by 
the  author.  The  frequent  quotations  are  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  he  has  preferred 
to  use  another's  language  where,  in  his  judg- 
ment, it  would  be  stronger  than  his  own.  His 
chief  aim  has  been  to  bring  the  material  to- 
gether in  workable  form  rather  than  to  deal  in 
rhetoric. 

ISTo  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  an  ex- 
haustive list  of  the  names  of  the  heroic  men 
and  women  who  have  labored  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  Africa.  In  this  brief  volume  it  has 
been  the  endeavor  to  select  four  great  lives 
which  could  be  joined  together  by  the  thread 
which  runs  through  the  book,  and  in  so  doing 
it  has  been  necessary  to  omit  the  lives  of  many 
who  merit  a  place  in  any  volume  which  would 
adequately  present  the  biographies  of  the  great 
II 


12  Preface 

missionaries  of  Africa.  In  making  the  selec- 
tion, the  author  has  taken  two  Scotchmen  and 
two  Americans.  Of  these,  one  was  pre-emi- 
nently an  explorer,  one  a  mechanical  engineer, 
and  two  were  evangelists.  Of  the  number,  two 
were  laymen,  and  two  were  ministers.  The 
work  of  each  represents,  in  a  sense,  a  different 
type  of  missionary  endeavor.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  all  died  while  on  the  battle 
line. 

New  Yoke,  June  15,  1902. 


INTRODUCTORY  SUGGESTIONS 

TO  BE  READ  CAREFULLY 
The  urgent  need  of  Mission  Study  Courses  Mission  Study 
suitable  to  Young  People's  Societies,  has  in-  •''""^ 
duced  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
and  the  Epworth  League  to  unite  in  producing 
a  series  of  text-books  which  will  be  especially 
prepared  for  young  people.    It  is  now  proposed 
to  issue  in  the  immediate  future  twenty  or  more 
mission  study  text-books  which  will  cover  the 
world  field.     The  plan  is  to  have  two  books  on 
each  mission  land — the  one,  a  biographical  book, 
dealing  with  the  great  missionaries ;  the  other, 
a  book  covering  the  general  field  of  missionary 
endeavor.    In  the  case  of  the  smaller  countries, 
however,  the  two  books  are  to  be  combined  in 
one.    The  courses  will  be  called  "The  Forward 
Mission  Study  Courses,"  the  name  being  in- 
spired by  Livingstone's  famous  motto, — "any- 
where,  provided  it  he  foewaed."     Professor 
Amos   R.    Wells,    of   the   United    Society    of 
Christian  Endeavor,  and  Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor, 
Chairman  of  the  General  Missionary  Commit- 
tee  of   the    Epworth   League,    wiU   edit   the 
13 


14  The  Price  of  Africa 

Courses.  "The  Price  of  Africa"  is  the  first 
book  of  the  series.  It  will  later  be  supple- 
mented bj  a  general  book  on  the  missions  of 
Africa.  The  other  books  of  the  series,  on  India, 
China,  Japan,  Korea,  etc.,  may  be  expected  to 
appear  as  needed  within  the  next  two  or  three 
years. 

How  to  Use  the  A  Mission  Study  Class  should  by  all  means 
^""''^  be  organized  in  every  Young  People's  Soci- 
ety. While  the  books  of  the  series  will  be 
found  useful  for  general  reference  and  for  pri- 
vate study,  they  are  designed  primarily  as  text- 
books for  class  work,  and  nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  a  Mission  Study  Class  which  meets  at 
stated  periods. 

How  to  Use  the  At  the  conclusion  of  each  chapter  in  this 
Questions  and  volume,  there  will  be  found  three  sets  of  topics. 
"Questions  for  the  class  hour"  are  intended 
for  the  use  of  the  student  ir  preparing  the 
lesson,  and  for  the  leader  of  the  class  in  con- 
ducting the  quiz  or  lesson  review.  They  are 
intended  to  be  suggestive  only,  and  leaders  will 
do  well  to  improve  upon  them  and  to  supple- 
ment them. 

"Topics  for  assignment  in  class  work"  are 
for  the  convenience  of  the  leader  in  assigning 
topics  to  the  various  members  of  the  class. 
As  a  rule  the  assignment  should  be  made  two 
or  three  weeks  in  advance  of  the  class  hour. 


Introductory  Suggestions         15 

These  topics  are  such  as  may  be  prepared  by 
almost  any  Mission  Study  Class  having  access 
to  the  Missionary  Campaign  Libraries,  or  to  a 
good  biography  of  each  of  the  missionaries 
whose  lives  are  treated  in  this  volume.  As  a 
rule,  the  references  of  a  chapter  are  to  a  single 
volume  only,  thus  avoiding  the  necessity  of  a 
large  library  for  research  work.  These  topics 
should  be  treated  as  briefly  as  possible,  and  not 
more  than  three  or  four  should  be  presented  at 
any  class  hour  unless  a  strict  time  limit  is  set. 

The  "Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation" 
are  suitable  for  Mission  Study  Classes  in  places 
where  there  are  well-equipped  missionary  libra- 
ries, such  as  often  will  be  found  in  cities  or 
in  college  towns.  These  subjects  may  also  be 
used  successfully  by  classes  having  access  to 
the  books  referred  to  in  the  paragraph  below. 

While   excellent  work   may   be   done   by  A  Special  Refer- 
classes  having  no   other  book  than  the   text-  «""  '■'''"^y 
book  itself,  it  is,  of  course,  desirable  that  classes 
should  equip  themselves  as  well  as  possible. 

Classes  desiring  to  do  thorough  work  should 
get  together  a  special  reference  library  contain- 
ing the  books  which  are  given  in  the  list  on 
page  21.  If  these  books  can  not  be  obtained 
in  any  other  way,  classes  may  well  purchase 
them,  as  the  volumes  will  be  useful  in  future 
courses. 


i6  The  Price  of  Africa 

How  to  Organize         In  bringing  the  plans  for  mission  study  to 
a  Class  the  attention  of  the  young  people,  it  will  be 
well  to: 

1.  Devote  a  regular  Young  People's  meet- 
ing to  the  organization  of  the  Mission  Study 
Class. 

2.  Show  the  attractiveness  of  mission  study 
and  its  necessity  as  a  forerunner  of  all  mis- 
sionary interest  and  service,  by  a  review  of  the 
proposed  text-book,  reports  of  missionary 
heroism,  incidents,  biographies,  stories,  or  by 
other  means. 

3.  After  the  subject  has  thus  been  pre- 
sented, explain  in  detail  the  plan  for  the  organ- 
ization of  Mission  Study  Classes  of  the  current 
year. 

4.  Conserve  the  results  of  the  meeting  by 
securing  on  slips  of  paper,  previously  prepared, 
the  names  of  those  who  will  enroll  as  members 
of  the  Mission  Study  Class. 

5.  Have  the  persons  who  sign  these  slips 
of  paper  tarry  after  the  meeting  long  enough 
to  arrange  the  time  and  place  for  the  next  meet- 
ing, and  to  secure  orders  for  the  Mission  Study 
text-book.  This  book  may  be  ordered  of  Jen- 
nings &  Pye,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  or  Kansas 
City,  or  of  Eaton  &  Mains,  New  York,  Boston, 
Pittsburg,  Detroit,  or  San  Francisco,  or  of  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Tremont 


Introductory  Suggestions  17 

Temple,  Boston,  Mass.     The  price  is  50  cents 
each,  in  cloth,  and  35  cents,  in  paper. 

After  the  meeting  at  which  the  Study  Class  Membership 
work  is  presented,  there  should  be  a  thorough 
canvass  of  the  active  membership  of  the  society, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  additional  names 
before  the  first  meeting  of  the  class.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Missionary  Committee  of  the  society 
should  certainly  be  charter  members  of  the 
class.  Large  numbers  are  not  requisite  for  a 
successful  class.  It  is  better  to  begin  with  a 
very  few,  who  are  deeply  interested,  and  then 
gradually  to  increase  the  number,  than  to  begin 
with  a  large  enrollment  of  disinterested  persons 
who  do  not  care  for  the  study.  The  class  should 
consist  only  of  those  who  are  in  earnest,  and 
who  plan  definitely: 

1.  To  attend  regularly. 

2.  To  secure  a  copy  of  the  text-book  (when 
two  from  the  same  family  join  the  class,  one 
book  may  suffice  for  both). 

3.  To  prepare  carefully  each  lesson. 

4.  To  do  as  far  as  possible  the  special  work 
assigned  by  the  leader. 

A  leader  and  a  secretary  should  be  chosen  officers  of  tlie 
from    the    class.      These    officers    should    be  ^'^^^ 
selected  with  great  care. 

The  leader  need  not  be  an  authority  on  for- 
eign missions,    but  he  should  be   earnest  and 

2 


i8  The  Price  of  Africa 

willing  to  give  time  and  energy  to  make  the 
class  interesting.  He  should  be  willing  to  lead 
the  class  in  hard  work. 

The  secretary  should  keep  a  careful  record 
of  the  meetings  of  the  class  and  of  extra  work 
assigned  and  completed  by  the  various  mem- 
bers. 

Another  member  of  the  class  may  well  be 
appointed   as   official   artist   or   map-maker   of 
the  class,  as  there  will  be  frequent  need  for 
missionary  charts   and  blackboard  work. 
How  Often  to         The  class  should  meet  once  a  week  until 
Meet  the  completion   of  the   course.      This   will  be 
found  more  satisfastory  than  meeting  once  a 
month,  or  even  once  in  two  weeks.    It  is  easier 
to  sustain  the  interest  with  weekly  meetings, 
and  the  results  of  the  study  will  be  more  sat- 
isfactory. 
Place  to  Meet         Mission   Study  Classes  often  meet  in  the 
Young  People's  Society  room,  if  suitable  and 
convenient,  or  in  a  private  home,  if  the  other 
room  is  not  available.     If  in  a  home,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  guard  against  permitting  the  class 
to  degenerate  into  a  mere  social  gathering. 
Maintaining  ttie         The  class  attendance  should  be  cared  for 
Attendance  by  two   or  more   of  the   most  interested   and 
influential  members  in  the  class.     Announce- 
ments each  week  from  the  pulpit,  at  the  regu- 
lar devotional  meetings,  and  at  prayer  meetings, 


Introductory  Suggestions  19 

will  be  effective,  but  in  most  cases  personal 
reminders  within  twenty-four  hours  of  the 
meeting  will  be  the  main  reliance.  The  secre- 
tary, or  officer  in  charge  of  records  of  attend- 
ance, should  make  it  a  point  to  see  each  absentee 
and,  if  possible,  secure  his  attendance  at  the 
next  session.  The  value  of  the  studies  depends 
largely  on  continuous  and  prompt  attendance. 
The  following  accessories  will  be  found  very 
helpful : 

1.  The  Missionary  Campaign  Libraries,  ^o.  Accessories  to 
1  and  'No.  2,  and  the  Conquest  Missionary  *''^  ^'^^^  ^*"''' 
Library. 

2.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  Missionary 
Society  of  your  own  Church  (and  of  other 
Churches  when  suggested). 

3.  A  general  missionary  map  of  the  world 
will  be  very  helpful,  although  it  is  not  essential. 
If  the  class  is  unable  to  purchase  or  secure  a 
large  printed  map,  a  very  effective  outline  map 
could  be  prepared  by  the  class  artist,  and  the 
names  of  the  various  mission  stations  and  fields 
inserted  as  the  lessons  progress.  This  plan  will 
be  found  to  have  many  points  of  advantage 
over  the  use  of  a  printed  map. 

4.  A  large  blackboard  should  be  at  hand 
and  freely  used  at  each  session  of  the  class. 
It  will  be  needed  for  maps,  charts,  and  dia- 
grams.    Better  than  a  blackboard  in  many  re- 


20  The  Price  of  Africa 

spects,  are  large  sheets  of  paper,  to  be  secured 
from  a  printer.  Colored  crayons  should  be 
used.  These  sheets,  bound  together,  will  give 
permanent  value  to  the  maps  and  helps  that 
are  prepared  for  the  class. 
How  to  Prepare  The  profit  gained  from  mission  study 
the  lesson  (depends  upon  the  amount  of  concentrated  at- 
tention given  to  it  before  the  class  hour.  The 
following  suggestions  are  given  to  those  who 
desire  to  make  the  most  of  their  time: 

1.  At  the  very  least  each  student  should 
read  over  the  lesson  in  the  text-book ;  then  with 
the  "Questions  for  the  Class  Hour"  before  him 
he  should  try  to  recall  the  leading  facts,  re- 
freshing the  memory  on  forgotten  points. 

2.  Each  student,  when  assigned  extra  work, 
should  do  his  best,  with  a  conscientious  desire 
to  help  the  other  members. 

3.  Each  member  should  have  a  note-book 
in  which  to  record  the  result  of  any  special 
reading,  interesting  points  brought  out  in  the 
class,  and  copies  of  the  charts  used  in  the  class. 

4.  Each  member  should  have  a  definite 
time  for  study,  and  should  be  systematic  in  the 
use  of  that  time. 

5.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  each 
member  be  punctual  at  each  meeting.  If  one 
member  keeps  a  class  of  twelve  waiting  five 
minutes,  he  has  been  the  cause  of  wasting  an 


Introductory  Suggestions         21 

hour's  time.  The  meeting  should  be  begun  and 
closed  on  time. 

6.  The  heart  should  be  kept  open  contin- 
ually for  divine  suggestions  as  to  one's  personal 
responsibility.  Often  should  the  individual 
pray,  "Lord,  in  the  light  of  these  new-found 
truths,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  do?" 

Y.  Throughout  the  course  there  should  be 
constant  prayer  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
world.  The  use  of  a  Prayer  Cycle  will  assist 
in  definiteness,  but  each  member  of  the  class 
should  prepare  a  prayer  list  for  personal  use, 
adding  from  time  to  time  the  names  of  mis- 
sionaries whom  he  may  personally  know,  or 
of  whom  he  may  learn  in  his  reading. 

At  intervals  during  the  class-hour,  prayer 
should  be  made  as  the  Holy  Spirit  may  direct. 

The  Mission  Class  should  become  a  praying 
hand,  and  should  offer  earnest  prayer  for 
laborers,  for  money,  for  the  missionary  inter- 
ests of  the  Church,  for  the  missionary  life  of 
the  Young  People's  Societies,  and  for  the 
Study  Class. 

BOOKS  FOR  GENERAL  REFERENCE.^ 

•'  The  Redemption  op  Africa."   2  Vols.   Noble.   Flem-  A  Select 
ing  H.  Revell  Company,  publishers,  New  York  Bibliography 
and  Chicago.    Price,  $4. 

iThe  books  In  these  lists  may  be  obtained  through  your 
book-dealer. 


22  The  Price  of  Africa 

"  The  History  of  the  Church  Missioxary  Society 
3  Vols.  Stock.  Church  Missionary  Society 
publishers,    Salisbury   Square,   London,   England. 

"Report  of  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Confer- 
ence" 1900.  2  Vols.  American  Tract  Society, 
publishers,  New  York.    Price,  $1.50. 

"Geography  and  Atlas  of  Protestant  Missions." 
2  Vols.  Beach.  Student  Volunteer  Movement, 
publishers.  New  York.     Price,  $2.50. 

"History  of  Protestant  Missions."  (Last  Edition.) 
Warneck.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  pub- 
lishers.    Price,  $2  net. 

"Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before  Carey.'' 
Barnes.  The  Christian  Culture  Press,  publishers. 
Chicago.     Price,  $1.50. 

"World-wide  Evangelization."  (Report  of  the  To- 
ronto Student  Volunteer  Movement  Convention.) 
Student  Volunteer  Movement,  publishers,  New 
York.     Price,  $1.50. 

"Africa  Waiting."  Thornton.  Student  Volunteer 
Movement,  publishers.  New  York.  Price  paper, 
25  cents. 

Books  on  Livingstone. 

"Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone."  Blaikie. 
Fleming  H.  Reveil  Company,  publishers,  Chicago 
and  New  York.     Price,  $1.50. 

"David  Livingstone."  Worcester.  (Missionary  An- 
nals Series.)  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  pub- 
lishers, Chicago  and  New  York.  Price,  paper,  15 
cents,  net ;  cloth,  30  cents,  net. 

"  Picket  Line  of  Missions."  (Chapter  on  Living- 
stone, by  Chancellor  McDowell.)  Jennings  &  Pye, 
publishers,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.     Price,  90  cents. 

"  History  of  the  CnuRcn  Missionary  Society."  (See 
Books  for  General  Reference.) 


Introductory  Suggestions  23 

Books  on  Mackay. 

"  The  Story  of  Maokay,  of  Uganda."    By  his  sister. 

A.  C.  Armstrong  &  Son,  publishers,  New  York. 

Price,  $1. 
•'  Picket  Line  op  Missions."     (Chapter  on  Mackay,  by 

J.  T.  Gracey.)     Reference  above. 
"The  Histoky  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society." 

(See  Books  for  General  Reference.) 

Books  and  Akticles  on  Good. 

"A  Life  for  Africa."     Parsons.    Fleming  H.  Revell 

Company,   publishers,   Chicago    and   New    York. 

Price,  $1.25. 
Articles  by  Good  in  Church  at  Home  and  Abroad  (now 

the  Assembly  Herald),  1890-94. 
"  Sketch  of  the  Life  op  Good,"  Church  at  Home  and 

Abroad,  1895. 

Books  and  Akticles  on  Cox. 

*"  Remains  of  Melville  B.  Cox."  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  publishers.  New  York. 

* "  Knights  of  the  Cross."  James  H.  Earle  Com- 
pany, publishers,  Boston,  Mass. 

"History  op  Methodist  Missions."  Reid  &  Gracey. 
3  Vols.,  $4,  in  sets  only.    Vol.  I,  pages  155-63. 

"The  Redemption  of  Africa."  Noble.  Vol.  I,  page 
305. 

Articles  on  Cox.  Methodist  Quarterly,  January,  1834. 
Funeral  sermon  by  ITathan  Bangs,  D.  D. 

» Out  of  print,  and  very  rare.   May  be  found  in  second-hand 
book-stores  or  In  some  libraries. 


THE  PRICE  OF  AFRICA 


"In  this  enterprise  of  winning  Africa  for  Christ  there  nrnst  be, 
I  know,  .  .  .  much  of  what  the  world  calls  loss  and  sacrifice,  and 
it  may  be  that  matvy  will  fall  in  the  blessed  work  of  foundation 
building  only  ;  but  what  of  this  ?  To  have  any  share  in  this  noblest 
of  all  toil,  however  humble  or  obscure,  be  it  only  hewing  wood  or 
drawing  water,  is,  surely,  honor  and  privilege  any  servant  of 
Christ  must  court  and  long  for.  I  desire  to  go  to  this  work  feeling 
yet  mora  intensely  day  by  day,  as  the  days  pass  on,  that  to  live  is 
Christ,  and  to  die,  gain ;  and  if  He  should  ordain  for  me  early 
death,  after  a  few  years  of  humble,  obscure,  pioneering  work  only — 
well,  it  must  all  be  right;  for  it  means  early  and  complete  satis- 
faction. '  Then  shall  Ibe  satisfied,  when  I  awake  in  Thy  likeness.''  " 
—A  Baptist  missionary,  who  laid  down  his  life  on  the  Congo. 

25 


The  Price  of  Africa 

"  He  who  loves  not,  lives  not; 
He  who  lives  by  the  Life  can  not  die." 

— Raymond  Lull. 

Feom  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  The  Early  Battte- 
Africa  has  been  a  battle-ground  where,  in  some  ^'■''""'' 
respects,  Christianity  has  had  its  hardest  fight. 
In  the  early  days,  Christianity  spread  with 
great  rapidity  along  the  northern  coast.  Ten 
days  after  the  ascension  of  Christ,  "dwellers 
in  Egypt"  who  had  been  in  Jerusalem,  heard 
Peter's  remarkable  sermon  of  Pentecost,  and 
doubtless  many  of  them  were  among  the  three 
thousand  who  that  day  were  added  to  the 
Church.  It  is  not  known  who  first  carried  the 
message  to  Africa,  but  in  common  with  the 
converts  "from  every  nation  under  heaven," 
the  Egyptians  must  have  gone  back  to  their 
homes  to  tell  the  wonderful  story.  (Acts  ii, 
5-47.) 

Certain  it  is  that  the  Christian  Church  was  ugpjj  sprgg^  ^j 
quickly  planted  in  Africa,  and  that  before  the  Christianity 
middle  of  the  second  century,  well  organized 
churches  were  to  be  found  in  every  important 
27 


28  The  Price  of  Africa 

city  and  town.  In  A.  D.  202,  Tertullian,  one 
of  the  great  leaders  of  the  African  Church, 
said  that  the  number  of  Christians  in  the  cities 
was  about  equal  to  the  number  of  pagans. 
Some  idea  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the  gospel 
may  be  obtained  from  the  fact  that,  in  A.  D. 
235,  a  great  council  was  held  in  Africa,  which 
was  attended  by  thirty-five  bishops. 
Alarm  ef  the  Ro-  So  rapid  was  the  spread  of  Christianity  that 
'  the  Eoman  authorities  became  alarmed.  The 
Christians  had  gone  to  the  most  distant  colo- 
nies ;  they  were  to  be  found  in  the  army  and  in 
important  civil  offices,  and  already  this  new  and 
strange  doctrine  rivaled  the  old  faith  of  the 
empire,  even  in  the  capital  city  itself.  It  was 
soon  determined  to  stamp  out  Christianity  by 
violent  measures.  In  Africa,  in  particular,  the 
propagation  of  the  gospel  was  in  spite  of  ex- 
treme violence  and  of  bloody  persecution.^ 
Early  Persecutions  In  the  year  A.  D.  202,  an  edict  issued  by 
In  Africa  Septimus  Severus  forbade  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  sent  a  storm  of  persecution  sweep- 
ing down  over  Eg}^t  and  other  parts  of  ISTorth 
Africa.  As  a  result  of  this  edict,  Leonidas, 
the  father  of  Origen,  was  beheaded  in  Alex- 
andria. Potamisena,  a  female  slave  noted  for 
her  beauty  and  for  her  moral  purity,  in  de- 
fending her  honor,  was  accused  by  her  master 

1  Text-book  of  Church  History.    Kurtz.    Page  83. 


The  Price  of  Africa  29 

of  being  a  Christian,  and  she  and  her  mother 
were  slowly  dipped  in  burning  pitch.     The  sol- 
dier,  Basilides,   who   was   ordered   to   execute 
the   sentence,    himself   embraced    Christianity, 
and  was  beheaded.     In  Carthage,  Perpetua,  a 
young  mother  of  high  birth,  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  was  accused  of  being  a  Christian.     In 
spite  of  imprisonment  and  torture,  the  plead- 
ing of  her  father,  and  the  love  for  the  infant 
in  her  arms,  she  was  true  to  her  faith,  and  was 
thrown  into  the  arena  to  be  torn  by  the  horns 
of  a  wild  cow,  only  to  be  released  from  her 
anguish  by  the   dagger  of  a  gladiator.     The 
slave  girl,  Felicitas,  in  the  same  prison,  pre- 
ferred to  be  torn  by  the  wild  beasts  rather  than 
to   deny  her  Lord.      These   few   examples   of 
the  bitterness  of  the  early  persecutions  have 
come  down  through  the  centuries.     It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  persons  whose  names  have  been 
preserved  are  but  a  few  of  the  vast  number 
who  were  martyred  in  Africa.     The  early  per- 
secutions are  significant  as  showing  the  ster- 
ling character  of  the  early  Christians  in  Africa, 
and  they  are  also  instructive  in  that  they  bear 
testimony  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  number 
of  Christians  in  the  early  Church. 

In  addition  to  its  great  numerical  strength,  Intellectual 
the  early  Church  in  Africa  occupied  an  envi-  Leadership  of  the 
able    place    in    intellectual    leadership.^      "Of  *'"""  ^'"""' 

iText-bookof  Church  History.    Kurtz.    Page  138, 139. 


30  The  Price  of  Africa 

twenty  greatest  names  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  first  four  centuries  after  the 
apostles,  more  than  one-half  belong  to 
Africa."^  Origen,  one  of  the  greatest 
scholars  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  intellects 
of  the  world;  Clement,  the  missionary,  and 
head  of  the  school  of  Alexandria;  TertuUian, 
"the  first  great  mind  in  Western  Christendom ;" 
Augustine,  Cyprian,  and  many  others,  were 
among  the  foremost  leaders  of  Latin  Christian- 
ity for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
A  lost  There  are  many  who  believe  that  the  time 
was  now  ripe  for  the  speedy  evangelization  of 
Africa.  That  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  early 
Church;  the  brilliancy  of  the  intellectual  lead- 
ership ;  the  manifest  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
—  these  influences  combined  —  might  have 
spread  down  over  the  continent,  and  so  far  as 
human  judgment  can  determine,  Africa,  in  the 
first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  might  have 
been  redeemed. 

Africa,  favored  as  the  training-ground  of 
the  Jewish  people  before  they  were  permitted 
to  enter  the  land  of  Canaan;  Africa,  chosen 
by  God  as  an  asylum  for  His  own  Son ;  Africa, 
permitted  through  Simon,  the  Cyrenean,  to 
share  with  Christ  the  burden  of  the  cross; 
Africa,  home  of  the  intellectual  leaders 
among   the    giants    of    intellect    in    the    early 

1  Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before  Carey.    Page  186 


The  Price  of  Africa  31 

Church;   Africa,   bathed  in  the  blood  of  the 
early  martyrs ;  surely  this  Africa  stretches  out 
her  hands  unto  God.     "In  the  height  of  Chris- 
tianity's glory  in  Northern  Africa,  there  were 
nine  hundred  Churches  of  Christ  in  that  region. 
0,  that  they  had  understood  their  calling !    If, 
instead  of  spending  their  chief  strength  in  the 
theological  and  ecclesiastical  arena,   they  had 
turned  their  magnificent  powers  to  the  evan- 
gelization of  all  Africa,  instead  of  being  still 
'the    dark   continent,'    it   might    have    become 
the    most    luminous    portion    of    the    whole 
planet    a    thousand    years    ago."^       But    the 
Church  gave  herself  over  to  theological  dispu- 
tations and  forgot  her  message,  and  the  fires 
in  E'orth  Africa  burned  low.    Islam,  armed  with 
the  sword,  carried  the  crescent  across  K'orth 
Africa,  down  through  the  Soudan,  and  is  still 
spreading  along  the  east  coast.     IvTotwithstand- 
ing  her  spiritual  decline,  the  Church  in  IlTorth 
Africa  had  taken  such  a  firm  root  during  the 
first  two  centuries,  that  it  took  Islam  more  than 
eight  hundred  years  completely  to  depose  her, 
but   having   once   accomplished   the    task,    the 
Church  has  never  been  able  to  recover  the  lost 
ground. 

With  the  Church  practically  blotted  out  in  The  Price 
Is'orth  Africa;  with  Central  and  South  Africa 
still  in  the  deep  darlaiess  of  heathendom;  no 

i  Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before  Oarey.    Page  203. 


32  The  Price  of  Africa 

wonder  the  Church  has  had  to  pay  a  price  for 
the  redemption  of  the  continent  which  may  well 
"stagger  humanity."  Africa  has  been  called 
"The  white  man's  grave."  Of  more  than  seven 
hundred  explorers  who  have  traveled  in  Africa, 
about  five  hundred  and  fifty  have  found  there 
their  last  resting-place.^  "For  missionaries 
it  has  been  pre-eminently  a  land  of  death." 
The  Middle  Ages  In  the  thirteenth  century,  two  hundred 
Franciscan  missionaries  were  murdered  at  the 
hands  of  the  Moslems.  The  Dominicans  "gave 
nearly  as  many  martyrs  to  Middle- Age  Africa 
as  did  the  Franciscans."  Raymond  Lull, 
knight  errant  of  evangelistic  Christianity,  spent 
the  most  of  his  long  life  in  storming  the  strong- 
hold of  the  Moslem  faith,  and  was  stoned  to 
death  when  nearly  eighty  years  of  age.  He 
was  "a  William  Carey  five  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  Christian  world  was  ready  to  under- 
stand and  co-operate  with  him."'^  From  the 
time  of  Raymond  Lull  until  now,  the  Church 
has  been  investing  life  until  the  African  con- 
tinent is  dotted  over  with  the  graves  of  the 
brave  men  and  women  whose  bodies  rest  in 
lonely  places,  but  whose  souls  are  with  the 
Lord. 


1  Th"^  Flaming  Torch  in  Darkest  Africa.    Page  8. 
'Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before  Oarey.    Barnes. 
Page  208. 


The  Price  of  Africa  33 

About  one  hundred  missionary  societies  are  Modern  Missions 
)s.r)W  working  in  Africa.  The  following  lists  of 
missionaries  who  have  died  in  Africa  are  in 
a  sense  typical.  The  seven  North  American 
societies  whose  lists  are  printed  below  have 
given  one  hundred  and  ninety  lives  for  Africa 
since  1833.  The  average  length  of  service  of 
these  missionaries  has  been  eight  years.  The 
details  which  accompanied  these  lists  (but 
which,  for  lack  of  space,  could  not  be  printed) 
are  a  commentary  on  the  fearful  ravages  of 
the  African  fever. 

Missionary   Society   of   the   Protestant 
Episcopal   Church. 

LENGTH  OF 
NAME.  SERVICE, 

Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Savage 3  years. 

Miss  Martha  D.  Coggeshall 3  months. 

Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Savage 11  months. 

Rev.  Launcelot  B.  Minor 7  years. 

Mrs.  Catherine  L.  Patch 2  years. 

Rev.  E.  J.  P.  Messenger 3  months.         • 

Dr.  T.  R.  Steele., 6  months. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Home 2  years. 

Rev.  Robert  Smith 3  months. 

Mrs.  Jacob  Rambo 2  years. 

Mrs.  C.  C.  Hoffman 3  years. 

Miss  Isabella  Alley 1  year. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Holcomb 1  year. 

Miss  Hermine  Relf (Not  given.) 

Rev.  H.  Greene (Not  given.) 

Miss  Phebe  Bart 4  months. 

Rev.  C.  G.  Hoffman 16  years. 

Mr.  Robert  G.  Ware (Not  given.) 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  G.  Auer 21  years. 

3 


34  The  Price  of  Africa 

I.BN6TH  OF 

NAME.  SERVICE. 

Mrs.  Anna  M.  Payne 21  years. 

Miss  L.  L.  K.  Spaulding Few  months. 

Mrs.  Mary  Auer 10  years. 

Miss  Delia  Hunt Few  months. 

Mrs.  Julie  Macmullan 3  months. 

Rev.   Henry   W.   Meek 4  months. 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Johnson (Not  given.) 

Mrs.  Alfred  Johnson (Not  given.) 

Mrs.  Cordelia  C.  C.  Brown (Not  given.) 

Rev.  James  W.  Blacldidge 27  years. 

Joseph  J.   Walters (Not  given.) 

Mrs.  Maria  R.  Brierley 31  years. 

Rev.  M.  P.  Keda  Valentine (Not  given.) 

John  J.  Perry (Not  given.) 

F.  Tebeyo  Allison,  M.  D 3  years. 

Rev.  James  G.  Monger (Not  given.) 

Rev.  Horatio  G.  N'yema  Merriam (Not  given.) 

Mr.  J.  G.  Birch (Not  given.) 

Rev.  Thos.  G.  Brownell  Gabla 22  years. 

Rev.  R.  H.  Gibson (Not  given.) 

George  H.  Wea  Glarck (Not  given.) 

Mrs.  R.  C.  Cooper (Not  given.) 

BOAKD     OF     FOEEIGN     MISSIONS     OF     THE     EVAN- 
GELICAL Lutheran  Church. 

Mrs.  John  Klstler 2  years. 

Rev.  S.  P.  Carnell 1  year. 

Mrs.  J.  G.  Breuuinger 2  years. 

Mrs.  B.  B.  Collins 1  year. 

Rev.  E.  M.  Hubler 1  .vear. 

Mrs.  Goo.  P.  GoU 1  year. 

Mrs.  David  A.  Day 21  years. 

Mrs.  Geo.  P.  GoU 1  year. 

Rev.  David  A.  Day,  D.  D .23  years. 

Mrs.  Will  M.  Beck 1  .vear. 

Mrs.  J.  D,  Simon 1  year. 

Rev.  J.  D.  Simon 2  years. 

Presbyterian    Board    of    Foreign    Missions. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Mackey 18  years. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  G.  W.  Simpson 2  years. 

Rev.  W.  Clemens 'J  years. 


The  Price  of  Africa  35 


LENGTH  OP 
NAME.  SERVICE. 

Rev.  G.  McQueen,  Jr 7  years. 

Mrs.  C.  DeHeer 2  years*. 

Rev.  C.  E.  Ogden 3  years.* 

Mrs.  C.  L.  Loomis 2  years. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Nassant 10  years. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Nassant 3  years. 

Rev.  Geo.  Paul 2  years. 

Miss  S.  Dewsnap 6  years. 

Rev.  A.  Bushnell,  D.  D 35  years. 

Rev.  H.  L.  Jacot 2  years. 

Miss  Hulda  Christensen 10  years. 

Rev.  S.  Rentlengier 3  years. 

Mrs.  Oscar  Roberts 2  years. 

Rev.  D.  H.  Devor 2  years. 

Rev.  B.  B.  Brier 1  year. 

Miss  S.  J.  Boughton 2  years. 

Rev.  A.  C.  Good 7  years. 

Mx-s.  C.  J.  Lafflin 1  year. 

Rev.  A.  W.  Marling 16  years. 

Mrs.  S.  A.  Boppell 1  year. 

Rev.  W.  O.  Gancli 18  years. 

Rev.  J.  D.  Alward 2  years. 

Rev.  T.  H.  Amos 10  years. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Amos 5  years. 

Rev.  J.  Barr ,1  year. 

Rev.  Ed.  Boeklen 2  years. 

Rev.  O.  K.  Canfield 3  years. 

Rev.  J.  Cloud ,1  year. 

Mrs.  J.  D.  Cranstian 3  years. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Deputic 8  years. 

Rev.  T.  E.  Dillon 14  years. 

Rev.  D.  L.  Donnell 1  year. 

Rev.  J.  Eder 4  years. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Erskine 28  years. 

Mr.  D.  C.  Ferguson 10  years. 

Mr.  F.  J.  C.  Finley 1  year. 

Mr.  Simon  Harrison 18  years. 

Mr.  Amos  Herring 19  years. 

Mr.  V.  B.  R.  James 17  years. 

Rev.  M.  Laird 1  year. 

Mr.  W.  McDonough 29  years. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Melville 12  years. 

Rev.  A.  Miller 6  years. 

Rev.  F.  B.  Perry 8  years. 


36 


The  Price  of  Africa 


LENGTH  OF 
NAME.  SEKVIOE, 

Mrs.  F.  B.  Perry 1  year. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Priest 40  years. 

Mrs.  J.  M.  Priest 37  years. 

Mr.  J.  R.  Priest 1  year. 

Rev.  T.  H.  Roberts 1  year. 

Rev.  R.  W.  Sawyer 3  years. 

Mrs.  E.  Slebbins 10  years. 

Rev.  T.  Wilson 3  years. 

American  Boaed  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions. 

Rev.  David  White 29  days. 

Mrs.  Helen  Maris  (Wells)  White 32  days. 

Rev.  Alexander  Erwin  Wilson,  :\I.  D..  . .(!  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  J.  (Smithey)  Wilson 2  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  (Hardcastle)  Wilson 10  years. 

Mrs.  Prudence  (Richardson)  Walker... 3  months. 
Mrs.  Zermiah  L.  (Shumway)  Walker...  1  yr.  4  mos. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Griswold 2  yr.  5  mos. 

Rev.  John  Milton  Campbell 1  mo.  10  da. 

Rev.  Albert  Bushnell 3G  years. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Ann  (Beers)  Bushnell 12  yr.  S  mo. 

Rev.  Rollin  Porter 1  yr.  1  mo. 

Mrs.  Susan  (Savary)  Pierce 1  yr.  8  da. 

Mrs.  Nancy  Ann  (Sikes)  Porter.  ..1  yr.  1  mo.  6  days. 

Rev.  Hubert  P.  Herrick 3  yr.  9  mo. 

Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Adams 1  yr.  6  mo. 

Henry  A.  Ford,  M.  D 7  yr.  4  mo. 

Mr.  Benj.  VanReusselaer  James 

(colored)   32  years. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Elizabeth  (Strobel) 

James  32  years. 

Mr.  Walter  Waldon  Bagster 1  yr.  3  mo. 

Mrs.  Mary  Jane  (Mawhir)  Sanders 9  months. 

Mrs.  Clara  Maria  (Wilkes)  Cnrrie 1  yr.  5  mo. 

Ardell  Henry  Webster.  M.  D 2  years. 

Miss  Minnehaha  Angela  Clarke 2  yr.  7  mo. 

Mrs.  Mittie  Artemesia  (Bebout) 

Richards  10  years. 

Mrs.  Hannah  (Davis)  Grout..; 1  year. 

Newton  Adams 1g'  yr.  10  mo. 

Rev.  Jas.  C.  Bryant 4  yr.  4  mo. 

Mrs.  Fanny  M.  (Nelson)  McKinney 14  yr.  4  rao. 


The  Price  of  Africa  37 


LENGTH   OF 
NAME.  SEKVIOE. 

Rev.  Samuel  D.  Marsh 5  yr.  11  mo. 

Mrs.  Jane  (Wilsou)  Ireland 13  years. 

Rev.   Andrew  Abraham 29  yr.  3  mo. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Lydia  (Biddle)  Abraham...  29  yr.  4  mo. 

Mrs.  Susan  W.  (Clark)  Tyler ,38  yr.  7  mo. 

Rev.  Jacob  L.  Dohne 43  years. 

Mrs.  Louisa  (Healey)  Pisley 45  years. 

Rev.  Elijah  Robbins ,29  yr.  6  mo. 

Mrs.  Adeline  (Bissell) 29  years. 

Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Bridgman 35  yr.  9  mo. 

Rev.  Myron  Winslow  Pinlierton 9  yr.  1  mo. 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  (Knox)  Kibbon 28  yr.  4  mo. 

Rev.  David  Hutton  Harris 11  years. 

Foreign  Mission  Boaed  of  the  iSTational  Bap- 
tist Convention. 

Rev.  Solomon  Cosby 11  months. 

Mrs.  Hattie  H.  Presley 14  months. 

Rev.  Hence  McKinney 4  years. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Coles 10  years. 

Rev.  Geo.  F.  A.  Johns 7  months. 

Mrs.  Lillie  B.  Johns 10  months. 

Rev.  R.  L.  Stewart 7  years. 

Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the  Southern  Bap- 
tist Convention. 

Henry    Goodale 1  year. 

J.   S.   Denuard 1  year. 

Mrs.    Dennard 1  year. 

Mrs.  T.  A.  Reid 1  year. 

J.  M.  Harden  (Colored) 13  years. 

Solomon  Cosby  (Colored) 2  years. 

Mrs.  N.  B.  David  (1st  wife  of 

W.  J.  David) 6  years. 

Mrs.  C.  E.  Smith  (2d  wife  of 

C.   E.   Smith) 4  years. 

Mrs.  W.  T.  Lumbley  (1st  wife  of 

W.  T.  Lumbley) 7  years. 

C.  C.  Newton 5  years. 

Mrs.  C.  C.  Newton 5  years. 

]Mrs.  W.  P.  Winn 1  year. 


38  The  Price  of  Africa 


COLOEED. 

I,ENGTH  OP 
NAME.  SERVICE. 

Jno.   Day 13  years. 

H.  Teague 7  years. 

A.  L.  Jones 1  year. 

F.  S.  James 1  year. 

B.  J.  Drayton 18  years. 

J.  H.  Cheeseman .10  years. 

R.  E.  Murray 7  years. 

R.   White 8  years. 

H.  Underwood 16  years. 

Jas.   Bullock 7  years. 

Jas.  Early 1  year. 

E.  S.  Vaughan 13  years. 

American  Baptist  Missionary  Union. 

Mrs.  Franklin  Pierce  Lynch 4  years. 

J.   E.  Broholm 3  years. 

Chas.  G.  Hartsock 3  yr.  9  mo. 

Fritz  Charles  Gleichman 3  yr.  5  mo. 

Richard  D.  Jones 1  yr.  9  mo. 

Mrs.  Christian  Nelson 9  yr.  5  mo. 

Mrs.  C.  M.  D.  Hill Not  given. 

John  McKittrick 7  years. 

Miss  Lenore  Hamilton 5  yr.  10  mo. 

When  one  remembers  that  these  lists  repre- 
sent but  seven  of  the  one  hundred  (about)  soci- 
eties which  are  worldng  in  Africa,  some  idea 
of  the  price  that  has  been  paid  may  be  ob- 
tained. Catholic,  Protestant,  English,  German, 
French,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  American, — 
all  have  united  in  self-sacrificing  service  for  the 
redemption  of  Africa. 

.  One  of  the  most  vivid  pictures  of  the  cost 
of  the  redemption  of  Africa  was  given  by  Henry 
Drummond  at  the  London  Missionary  Conven- 


The  Price  of  Africa  39 

tlon  in  1888.  He  was  called  upon  to  speak  in  A  Deserted  Village 
the  place  of  Mr.  Bain,  a  missionary  to  Africa. 
Mr.  Drummond  said:  "I  almost  wish  my  friend, 
Mr.  Bain,  whose  place  I  take,  had  been  with 
you  himself  this  afternoon.  He  is  one  of  the 
men  Mr.  Stock  has  spoken  of  as  being  at  their 
post  when  he  might  have  been  here.  Mr.  Bain 
actually  put  his  foot  on  the  little  steamer  on 
Lake  ISTyassa  to  come  to  England.  He  was  shat- 
tered with  fever, — his  holiday  was  overdue,  and 
his  mother — a  widow — was  waiting  for  him  in 
Scotland.  But  as  the  ship  was  leaving  the  shore 
Mr.  Bain  turned  to  the  band  of  natives  who  had 
come  to  see  him  off, — an  Arab  slaver  had  been 
busy  in  Mr.  Bain's  district  during  the  past 
month  or  two,  and  these  poor  natives  were  being 
left  like  a  flock  in  the  wilderness  without  their 
shepherd, — and  he  ordered  the  luggage  to  be 
put  off  on  shore  again,  and  the  boat  went  away 
without  him ;  and  he  is  there  now.  That  is  the 
kind  of  stuff  the  African  missionaries  are  made 
of,  and  it  takes  such  stuff  to  do  mission  work  in 
Africa.  ...  -^^ 

"A  few  years  ago  a  small  band  sailed  up  the 
Zambezi  into  Lake  N'yassa.  They  made  their 
settlement  at  Livingstonia,  and  set  to  work  to 
Christianize  the  tribes  along  that  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  of  lake  coast.  Two  or  three 
years  ago  I  went  to  see  that  mission  station, 


40  The  Price  of  Africa 

and  I  found  the  houses  in  perfect  order,  re- 
minding one  of  a  sweet  English  village.  But 
as  I  went  from  house  to  house  I  found  there 
was  no  one  in  them.  The  first  house — the 
clergyman's  house — was  empty.  The  second 
house  was  a  schoolhouse,  and  that  was  also 
empty.  The  blacksmith's  shop  was  empty ;  and 
I  passed  from  house  to  house,  and  there  was  no 
one  in  any  of  them.  Then  a  native  came  out 
of  the  forest  and  beckoned  to  me,  and  drew  me 
away  a  few  yards,  and  there  under  a  huge  gran- 
ite mountain  I  saw  four  or  five  mounds,  where 
lay  the  bodies  of  the  missionaries.  There  was 
not  one  of  them  left  in  Livingstonia.  One  by 
one  they  had  sickened  and  died  of  fever,  and 
the  small  remnant  had  gone  off  in  the  little  ship 
and  planted  a  new  station  a  couple  of  hundred 
miles  up  the  lake ;  and  there,  against  fearful 
odds,  they  are  carrying  on  the  work."  ^ 
An  Incentive  Facts  like  the  above  should  nerve  the 
for  Action  djurch  to  greater  effort  than  it  has  ever  yet 
put  forth.  A  great  Civil  War  was  the  price 
of  the  freedom  of  the  black  man  in  North 
America.  It  cost  tens  of  thousands  of  lives 
to  liberate  the  slaves  after  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  had  made  them  free.  Through 
a  struggle  no  less  real,  calling  for  no  less  heroic 


1  Report  of  the  Missionary  Conference,  London,  1888.    Pago 
278. 


The  Price  of  Africa  41 

sacrifice,  Africa  must  be  redeemed.  There  was 
a  time  when  slavery  could  have  been  abolished 
in  America  by  legal  enactment,  but  our  fathers 
temporized  with  the  question  and  trusted  that 
things  would  right  themselves.  The  price  of 
their  inactivity  was  a  cruel  war  and  a  ligation 
in  mourning. 

The  time  to  have  saved  Africa  was  when 
the  light  shone  brightly,  and  when  Christianity 
was  clothed  in  her  youthful  might.  The  army 
of  martyrs  who  have  gone  to  the  throne  of  God 
by  way  of  Darkest  Africa  have  been  paying 
the  price  of  the  indifference  and  the  negligence 
of  the  early  Church.  The  longer  the  Church 
delays,  the  greater  the  price  that  must  be  paid. 

"The  forces  of  evil  are  not  delaying  their  The  Forces  of  Evi! 
work."  The  Mohammedans,  cramped  in  India 
and  China,  are  making  Egypt  the  vantage 
ground  for  an  active  propaganda  of  their  faith. 
The  dealers  in  arms  and  spirituous  liquors,  hav- 
ing counted  the  cost,  are  ready  to  place  in  the 
hands  of  the  black  man  the  forces  for  his  own 
destruction. 

The  nations  of  the  world  do  not  hesitate  Nations  Pay  the 
to  pay  the  price  for  their  respective  spheres  of  Pfice 
influence.      Great   Britain   saw   the    inevitable 
conflict   in    South    Africa,    and   gave    without 
flinching  1,069  officers,  20,897  men,  and  over 
$825,000,000.     One  shudders  to  think  of  the 


42  The  Price  "of  Africa 

price  that  has  been  paid ;  but  what  will  be  the 
full  price  if  the  Christians  of  this  generation 
bequeath  to  future  generations  of  Christians  an 
ever-increasing  heritage  of  suffering  and  fever 
and  bloodshed? 

"When  Pizarro  was  attempting  the  con- 
quest of  Peru's  El  Dorado,  he  had  to  oppose  the 
onsets  of  his  men's  despair.  One  day  he  drew 
a  line  with  his  sword  in  the  sand,  faced  south, 
and  exclaimed :  Triends  and  comrades,  on  that 
side  are  toil,  hunger,  nakedness,  the  drenching 
storm,  desertion,  and  death ;  on  this  side,  ease 
and  pleasure.  There  lies  Peru  -with  its  wealth ; 
here,  Panama  with  its  poverty.  Choose  what 
best  becomes  a  brave  Castilian.  For  my  part, 
I  go  south.'  So  saying,  he  stepped  across  the 
line,  and  his  little  band,  ^in  the  face  of  difficul- 
ties unexampled  in  history,  with  death  rather 
than  riches  their  reward,  preferred  it  to  aban- 
doning honor,  and  stood  by  their  leader  as  an 
example  of  loyalty  for  future  ages.'  " 

The  American  soldier  freely  paid  the  price 
of  the  freedom  of  the  black  man.  Our  boys 
bought  with  their  blood  the  freedom  of  Cuba. 
The  soldiers  of  the  Queen  went  out  unhesitat- 
ingly to  pay  the  price  of  British  supremacy  in 
South  Africa,  but  the  full  price  of  Africa's  re- 
demption has  not  been  paid. 


The  Price  of  Africa  43 

We  dwell  in  a  favored  land ;  we  have  been  A  Favored  Land 
privileged  to  see  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  cen- 
tury; we  are  surrounded  by  every  comfort  of 
civilized  life;  God  has  vouchsafed  peace  and 
prosperity,  and  we  are  content.  It  is  an  easy 
thing  in  a  time  like  this  to  drift  with  the  tide, 
but  in  all  the  ages  which  look  down  upon  us 
there  has  never  been  a  moment  which  history 
has  recorded  when  there  was  less  time  for  soft 
living  than  now. 

It  is  a  time  of  world  enterprise  and  of  world  World-Wide 
conquest.  The  demand  of  the  hour  is  for  world-  Enterprise 
statesmen — men  who  are  made  of  iron,  and  who 
never  sleep.  It  is  the  time  of  times  for  a  world- 
wide propagation  of  the  gospel,  and  Africa  in 
particular  was  never  more  ready  to  receive  it 
than  now. 

As  the  last  lines  of  this  chapter  are  being  The  Challenge  to 
written  comes  the  news  of  peace  in  South  Af-  ^^^  ^^"^^^ 
rica,  of  rejoicing  in  London,  of  rise  in  stocks, 
and  of  commercial  activity  everywhere.  The 
commercial  life  of  the  world  by  its  activity  is 
calling  upon  the  Church  to  pay  the  price  of 
Africa.  Every  lonely  missionary  grave  is  an 
appeal  for  her  redemption,  every  line  from 
every  missionary  is  a  call  for  help,  every  man 
and  woman  and  child  in  heathen  darkness  is  a 
challenge  to  the  Church.    The  Lord  himself  sits 


44  The  Price  of  Africa 

on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God  expect- 
ing till  his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool.     Pie  ^ 
has  given  to  the  Church  all  power  for  the  enter- 
prise.    How  long  must  He  wait  until  Africa 
shall  be  redeemed  ? 

Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  Repeat  the  words  of  Raymond  Lull,  which  ap- 

pear at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 

2.  Give  the  gist  of  the  sentence  of  the  missionary 

who  died  on  the  Congo.     (Found  on  the  title- 
page  of  this  chapter.) 

3.  Teii  something  of  the  early  spread  of  Christianity 

along  the  northern  coast  of  Africa. 

4.  What  was  Tertullian's  testimony  as  to  the  num- 

ber of  Christians  in  Africa? 

5.  How  many  bishops  attended  the  council  in  A,  D. 

235? 

6.  Tell  of  the  alarm  of  the  Roman  authorities. 

7.  What  was  the  purpose  of  the  edict  of  Septimus 

Severus,  A.  D,  202? 

8.  Tell  of  the  early  persecutions. 

9.  In  what  way  are  these  persecutions  instructive? 

10.  Name  some  of  the  early  martyrs. 

11.  Give  the  names  of  some  of  the  intellectual  leaders 

of  the  early  Church. 

12.  What  of  the  lost  opportunity  of  the  early  Church 

in  North  Africa? 

13.  How    many    explorers    have    lost    their    lives    in 

Africa? 

14.  Tell  of  the  loss  of  life  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

15.  How  many  missionary  societies  are  now  at  work 

in  Africa? 

16.  Of  the  lists  given,  what  has  been  the  average 

term  of  service  of  the  missionaries  who  have 
died  in  Africa? 


The  Price  of  Africa  45 

17.  What  was  Drniiimoncrs  testimony  as  to  the  cost 

of  the  redemption  of  Africa? 

18.  What   should   be  the  attitude  of  the   Church  in 

Tiew  of  the  great  price  which  it  already  has 
been  called  upon  to  pay? 

19.  What  is  the  attitude  of  the  forces  of  evil? 

20.  What  did  the  Boer  War  cost  the  British  Empire 

in  life  and  money? 

21.  Tell  of  the  courage  of  Pizarro  and  his  soldiers. 

22.  What  did   it  cost  to  liberate  the  black   man   in 

America?     (Answer  not  found  in  the  book.) 

23.  What  is  the  peril  of  the  present  age  of  prosperity? 

24.  What  can  you  tell  of  some  of  the  great   world 

enterprises  of  the  day?  (Answer  not  found  in 
the  book.) 

25.  What,  in  your  opinion,   are  some  of  the   urgent 

reasons  why  the  Church  should  hasten  to  evan- 
gelize Africa? 

Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  Work. 

1.  Early  Christianity  in  North  Africa.     "Two  Thou- 

sand Years  of  Missions  Before  Carey"  (Barnes), 
Chapters  XII  and  XIII.  (See  also  any  good 
Church  history  in  pastor's  library.) 

2.  The    Roman    Empire    in    its    relation   to    Africa. 

Reference  same  as  above. 

3.  The  African  leaders  of  the  early  Church.     Ref- 

erence same  as  above. 

4.  The  extent  of  the  early  persecutions  in  Africa. 

Reference  same  as  above. 

5.  Biblical   references  or  incidents   which   relate  to 

Africa.     See  Concordance. 

6.  Raymond  Lull.     "History  of  Church   Missionary 

Society,"  I,  13;  II,  359;  "Two  Thousand  Years 
of  Missions  Before  Carey,"  205;  "The  Redemp- 
tion of  Africa,"  109-126. 

7.  John  Vanderkemp.     "History  of  Church  IJission- 

ary  Society,"  I,  92;  "Twelve  Pioneer  Mission- 
aries" (Smith),  137. 


46 


The  Price  of  Africa 


8.  George  Pilkington.  Geography  and  Atlas  (Beach), 

475;  "History  of  Church  Missionary  Society," 
III,  285,  286,  360-364,  434,  442,  450-452,  653,  655, 
662,  738,  739,  789-791. 

9.  The  martyr  spirit  in  Madagascar.     "Sign  of  the 

Cross  in  Madagascar"  (Conquest  Missionary 
Library.) 
10.  Martyrdom  and  its  relation  to  the  extension  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  See  any  good  Church 
history.  Chapters  dealing  with  the  spread  of 
Christianity  in  the  early  Church;  the  Scotch 
Covenanters;  the  Waldenses,  etc. 

Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  North  Africa,  Egypt,  and  Abyssinia.— A  brief  his- 

torical survey. 

2.  The  price  which  science  and  commerce  are  paying 

for  the  commercial  redemption  of  Africa. 

3.  The  relation  of  the  Boer  War  to  the  evangelization 

of  Africa. 

4.  Difficulties   in  the  way  of  the   evangelization   of 

Africa. 

5.  The  size  of  Africa  in  comparison  with  other  coun- 

tries.   (Illustrated  by  charts.) 


Note.— References  In  this  section  are  not  Intended  to  be 
exhaustive,  and  they  are  to  those  books  which  are  contained 
In  the  Missionary  Campaign  Libraries,  and  the  Conquest  Li- 
brary or  the  Reference  Library  mentioned  on  Page  21. 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE 

MISSIONARY  AND  EXPLORER 

Born  Blantyre,  Scotland,  March  19,  1813. 
Died  Ilala,  Africa,  May  1,  1873. 


Bis  body  rests  in  Westminster  Abbey  among  the  illustriout 
dead.  Inscribed  on  Ids  tomb  is  the  last  sentence  of  his  letter 
written  to  the  New  York  Herald,  for  the  purpose  of  enlisting 
American  effort  toward  the  suppression  of  the  East  Ooast  slave- 
trade:  "All  I  can  add  in  my  loneliness  is,  May  heaven's  richest 
blessing  come  down  on  every  one — Aynerican,  Englishman,  Turk — 
who  mil  help  heal  this  open  sore  of  the  world."     . 

47 


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48 


David  Livingstone. 
49 


David  Livingstone 

"  The  end  of  the  exploration  is  the  beginning  of  the 
enterprise." 

A  BOY  came  to  gladden  a  humble  home  of  Beginnings 
Central  Scotland  in  the  raw  month  of  March, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1813.  It  was  a  time 
when  the  acorns  were  being  planted  every- 
where. Seven  years  before  this  boy  was  born, 
the  Haystack  meeting  at  Williamstown  had  in- 
augurated the  foreign  missionary  movement  of 
l^orth  America. 

The  year  before  Livingstone's  birth,  Wil- 
liam Carey's  great  printing-house  in  Serampore 
was  consumed  by  fire.  The  loss  caused  Carey 
to  walk  in  the  smoking  ruins,  tearfully  exclaim- 
ing: "In  one  short  evening  the  labors  of  many 
years  are  consumed.  How  unsearchable  are  the 
ways  of  God !  The  Lord  has  laid  me  low,  that 
I  may  look  simply  to  Him."  Yet  this  great  loss 
to  pioneer  missions  became,  under  God,  a  great 
blessing.  Throughout  England  missionary  fires 
4  51 


Unrest  and  of 
Exploration 


52  The  Price  of  Africa 

were  kindled,  and  "unexampled  liberality  ani- 
mated all  classes."  ^ 

At  tlie  time  of  David  Livingstone's  birth 
not  more  than  a  dozen  English  missionary  soci- 
eties had  been  formed.  In  1810  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
came  into  being.  Six  years  later  the  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society  was  organized,  and  in  1819 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Missionary  Society  was 
formed. 
&  Time  of  Political  ISTot  only  was  David  Livingstone  born  at  the 
day-dawn  of  modern  missions,  but  he  also  grew 
up  in  the  midst  of  a  spirit  of  inquiry  and  of 
exploration.  Six  years  before  he  started  for 
Africa,  England  had  abolished  the  slave-trade 
in  all  British  possessions.  The  Chinese  Opium 
War  was  soon  to  be  waged.  The  minds  of  ad- 
venturers had  for  years  been  turning  to  the 
Dark  Continent,  the  last  of  the  great  regions 
of  the  world  to  be  explored.  "Into  the  king- 
idom  at  such  a  time,  and  for  such  a  time,  Living- 
stone came."  ^ 
His  Prejwratlon  A  providential  ^preparation  of  David  Liv- 
ingstone for  his  grer.^  work  will  be  found  in  the 
hereditary  influences  Avhich  shaped  his  life. 
These  enabled  him  to  say:  "The  only  point  of 
family  tradition  that  I  feel  proud  of  is  this, — 


1  William  Oarey,  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  5L 
*  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  25. 


David  Livingstone  53 

one  of  these  poor  islanders — one  of  my  ances- 
tors, when  he  was  on  his  deathbed,  called  his 
children  around  him  and  said:  'ISTow,  lads,  I 
have  looked  all  through  our  history  as  far  back 
as  I  can  find  it,  and  I  have  never  found  a  dis- 
honest man  in  all  the  line,  and  I  want  you  to 
understand  you  inherit  good  blood.  You  have 
no  excuse  for  wrong-doing.     Be  honest.'  "  ^ 

Another  element  in  his  preparation  will  be  A  Religious 
found  in  his  religious  experience  which  enabled  ^P^'^"" 
him  at  an  early  age  to  form  this  purpose :  "I  will 
place  no  value  on  anything  I  have  or  may  pos- 
sess, except  in  its  relation  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ.  If  anything  I  have  will  advance  the  in- 
terests of  that  Kingdom,  it  shall  be  given  up 
or  kept,  as  by  keeping  or  giving  it  I  shall  most 
promote  the  glory  of  Him  to  whom  I  owe  all 
my  hopes,  both  of  time  and  eternity.  May 
grace  be  given  me  to  adhere  to  this !" 

Again,  such  was  his  natural  intellectual  A  Cultivated  Mind 
strength  and  activity  that  at  the  age  of  ten  he 
was  impelled  to  save  enough  out  of  his  first 
week's  wages  to  buy  Kuddiman's  "Rudiments." 
He  mastered  Latin  in  the  evening  after  his 
factory  work  was  over,  and  amid  the  roar  of 
the  machinery  he  was  able  to  concentrate  his 
mind  on  the  book  laid  open  on  the  spinning- 
jenny. 

1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.   Page  24. 


54  The  Price  of  Africa 

A  Born  Naturalist  A  further  preparation  resulted  from  his  apt- 
itude for  scientific  pursuits,  and  from  his  pas- 
sion for  exploration.  While  he  was  yet  a  boy 
he  used  to  scour  the  country,  romping  over  the 
hillsides  with  his  brothers  in  search  of  botanical, 
geological,  and  zoological  specimens. 
A  Sound  Body  Further,  his  outdoor  life  and  his  enthusi- 
astic participation  in  athletic  sports  aided  in  the 
development  of  the  rugged  constitution,  the 
foundation  for  which  was  laid  in  rich  High- 
land blood. 

Doctor  of  Medicine  A  medical  training  was  an  indispensable 
equipment  for  a  life  which  was  to  be  hidden  for 
years  in  the  fever  jungles  of  Africa,  and  it 
surely  was  a  providential  leading  which  im- 
pelled Livingstone  to  tarry  until  he  had  earned 
a  medical  diploma,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to 
say,  "With  unfeigned  delight  I  became  a  mem- 
ber of  a  profession  which  with  unwearied  en- 
ergy pursues  from  age  to  age  its  endeavors  to 
lessen  human  woe."  ^ 
A  Missionary  But  above  all,  the  hand  of  Providence  is 
seen  in  that  immediately  after  his  conversion  he 
was  led  to  join  the  missionary  society  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  thus  he  became  familiar  with  the  lives 
of  such  men  as  Henry  Martyn  and  Carl  Gutz- 
laff.  Here  also  he  met  Kobert  Moffat,  who  told 
him  that  he  had  "sometimes  seen  in  the  morn- 

1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  28. 


Enthusiast 


David  Livingstone  55 

ing  sun  the  smoke  of  a  thousand  villages  where 
no  missionary  had  ever  been."  ^ 

After  reading  Gutzlaff's  "Appeal"  in  behalf  The  Missionary 
of  China,  Livingstone  resolved  to  give  his  life  '•^" 
to  work  in  that  country.  He  gave  as  his  rea- 
son "the  claims  of  so  many  millions  of  his 
fellow-creatures,  and  the  complaint  of  the  want 
of  qualified  men  to  undertake  the  task."^ 
Henceforth  his  "efforts  were  continually  di- 
rected toward  that  object  without  any  fluctu- 
ation." But  the  opium  war  effectually  closed 
the  door  of  China,  and  the  appeal  of  Moffat 
for  the  thousand  African  villages  constrained 
Livingstone  to  devote  himself  to  that  continent. 
The  purpose  once  formed,  he  never  swerved 
from  it.  Anxious  to  begin  at  once  the  work 
which  he  saw  in  dim  outline  before  him,  he 
remained  in  England,  and  further  prepared 
himself  with  scrupulous  care.  He  was  not  to 
be  hurried,  yet  when  he  was  finally  ready  noth- 
ing could  keep  him  back. 

One  scene  must  have  been  deeply  graven  on  fhe  last  Farewell 
David  Livingstone's  heart.  It  was  that  one 
which,  varied  in  outward  form,  is  always  the 
same  in  its  real  pathos  whenever  a  young  man 
or  young  woman  "breaks  home  ties"  to  become 
a  messenger  of  Christ  to  the  dark  places  of  the 

1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  27. 

2  David  Livingstone,  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  8. 


56  The  Price  of  Africa 

earth.  On  the  evening  of  iSTovember  16,  1840, 
Livingstone  went  home  to  Blantyre  to  spend  the 
last  night  with  his  parents.  The  Liverpool  boat 
left  early  in  the  morning,  and  there  was  so  much 
to  talk  about  that  David  proposed  that  they  sit 
up  all  night.  But  the  mother,  anxious  for  the 
sleep  and  rest  of  her  boy,  would  not  listen  to 
this.  David  and  his  father  talked  until  mid- 
night of  the  prospect  of  Christian  missions,  and 
"they  agreed  that  the  time  would  come  when 
rich  men  and  great  men  would  think  it  an  honor 
to  support  Avhole  stations  of  missionaries,  in- 
stead of  spending  half  their  money  on  hounds 
and  horses."^  The  last  breakfast  at  home  was 
eaten  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  the 
meal,  David  read  the  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
first  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-fifth  Psalms, 
and  led  the  little  group  of  father,  mother,  and 
sister  in  prayer. 

Biographers  are  strangely  silent  concern- 
ing the  parting  scene  with  the  mother.  Doubt- 
less after  the  manner  of  godly  women,  her  tears 
of  anguish  were  shed  in  the  secret  place  where 
one  who  never  wrote,  save  on  the  sand,  was  the 
silent  but  real  comforter. 

The  gray-haired  father  walked  to  Glasgow 
with  David  to  catch  the  Liverpool  steamer. 
"On  the  Broomielaw,  father  and  son  looked  for 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  62. 


David  Livingstone  57 

the  last  time  on  earth  on  each  other's  faces. 
The  old  man  walked  slowly  back  to  Blantyre 
with  a  lonely  heart,  no  doubt,  yet  praising 
God." ' 

David's  face  was  now  set  in  earnest  toward  Livingstone,  the 
the  Dark  Continent.  "''="""''y 

Before  beginning  a  brief  survey  of  his  work 
in  Africa,  it  may  be  well  to  consider  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  Livingstone  the  mis- 
sionary. 

During  his  lifetime  Livingstone  was  much 
misunderstood  and  his  missionary  purpose  was 
questioned.  When  he  began  his  second  and 
third  journeys  it  seemed  to  many  that  the  mis- 
sionary was  being  swallowed  up  in  the  explorer ; 
but  while  Livingstone  was  a  many-sided  man — 
geographer,  botanist,  zoologist,  astronomer, 
doctor,  explorer — he  was  a  missionary  first 
of  all,  and  as  such  he  must  ever  be  ranked 
among  the  first  of  that  illustrious  com- 
pany. The  fidelity  of  Livingstone  to  his  early 
missionary  convictions  is  now  universally  rec- 
ognized. 

Soon  after  he  reached  Africa  he  spent  six  He  Icnew  llie 
months  among  the  natives,  and  apart  from  all      •• 
European  associations,  that  he  might  get  an  in- 
sight into  the  inner  life  of  the  people.     Con- 
cerning this  experience,  he  says:  "To  endure 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  52. 


58  The  Price  of  Africa 

the  dancing,  roaring,  and  singing,  the  jesting, 
gambling,  quarrelling,  and  murdering  of  these 
children  of  nature,  was  the  severest  penance  I 
had  yet  undergone  in  the  course  of  my  mission- 
ary duties."^  Yet  only  in  this  way  was  he 
able  to  get  that  thorough  knowledge  of  native 
life  which  was  of  such  service  to  him  through- 
out his  career. 
The  People  Livingstone  always  exerted  a  peculiar  influ- 
knew  Him  q^^qq  over  the  natives.  Before  he  had  been  in 
Africa  a  year,  his  gentleness  of  heart,  his  real 
love  of  the  people,  and  his  fearless  manner, 
had  so  won  them  that  he  was  able  to  do  what  to 
others  was  impossible.  Time  after  time,  as  he 
went  from  tribe  to  tribe  and  found  himself  in 
peril  at  the  hands  of  savage  chiefs,  he  was  able 
to  save  himself  and  others  by  a  single  word,  a 
smile  or  an  appropriate  gift. 
His  Preaching  Amid  all  his  journeyings,  Livingstone  was 
Simple  j[jj  ^j^g  habit  of  preaching  at  every  opportunity. 
His  favorite  themes  were,  "The  Abounding 
Love  of  Christ,"  "The  Keal  Fatherhood  of 
God,"  "The  Glories  of  the  Kesurrection," 
"The  Last  Judgment."  His  preaching  was 
simple,  straightforward,  illustrative,  and  effect- 
ive. Knowing  the  people,  he  was  able  to  dis- 
course on  a  level  with  their  understanding. 
He  never  "preached  over  their  heads." 
A  Right  Motive  Livingstone  would  not  be  drawn  into  that 
1  David  Livingstone,  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  84. 


David  Livingstone  59 

subtle  snare  of  the  tempter,  the  desire  to  make 
a  good  report  for  the  edification  of  the  Church 
at  home.  He  did  not  strive  for  nominal  adher- 
ents. He  writes:  "JSTothing  will  induce  me  to 
form  an  impure  Church.  Fifty  added  to  the 
Church  sounds  fine  at  home,  but  if  only  five  of 
these  are  genuine  what  will  it  profit  in  the  Great 
Day  ?  I  have  felt  more  than  ever  lately  that  the 
great  object  of  our  exertion  ought  to  be  con- 
version."^ 

He  was  willing  to  endure  the  severest  trial 
of  the  Christian — being  misunderstood  by  those 
for  whom  he  was  giving  his  life.  "Remember 
us  in  your  prayers,"  said  he,  "that  we  grow  not 
weary  in  well  doing.  It  is  hard  to  work  for 
years  with  pure  motives,  and  all  the  time  be 
looked  upon  by  most  of  those  to  whom  our  lives 
are  devoted  as  having  some  sinister  object  in 
view.  Disinterested  labor — benevolence — is  so 
out  of  their  line  of  thought,  that  many  look 
upon  us  as  having  some  ulterior  object  in  view ; 
but  He  who  died  for  us,  and  Whom  we  ought  to 
copy,  did  more  for  us  than  we  can  do  for  any 
one  else.  He  endured  the  contradiction  of  sin- 
ners. We  should  have  grace  to  follow  in  His 
steps. "^ 

Notwithstanding  his  great  care  in  admit-  A  Fruitful 
ting  to  the  Church  only  those  whom  he  be-  '*''"'^'^ 

1  David  Livingstone  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  25. 
a  Ibid.    Page  26. 


6o  The  Price  of  Africa 

lieved  to  be  the  children  of  God,  yet  just  a 
year  after  he  went  to  the  field  he  wrote  to  his 
father:  "The  work  of  God  goes  on  here  not- 
withstanding all  our  infirmities.  Souls  are 
gathered  in  continually,  and  sometimes  from 
among  those  you  would  never  have  expected 
to  see  turning  to  the  Lord.  Twenty-four  were 
added  to  the  Church  last  month,  and  there  are 
several  inquirers."  ^ 
No  Mere  To  understand  the  missionary's  work,  and 
Adventurer  how  the  missionary  became  an  explorer,  one 
must  follow  the  map  closely,  and  understand 
something  of  the  geographical,  political,  and 
religious  conditions  of  the  times.  From  his 
letters,  Livingstone  has  made  it  perfectly  plain 
that  he  did  nothing  by  chance.  There  was  an 
adequate  reason  for  everything  he  did,  al- 
though often  one  must  look  for  that  reason, 
not  in  any  outward  circumstance,  but  in  that 
unseen  and  most  real  cause,  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  of  God. 
Outline  of  His  Livingstone's  work  in  Africa  may  be  divided 
Life-Worl(  jj^^q  three  periods.  First,  as  a  regular  mis- 
sionary under  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
1840  to  1856.  Second,  as  an  explorer  of  the 
Zambezi  and  its  tributaries,  at  the  head  of  a 
government  expedition,  1858  to  1864.  Third, 
as  an  explorer  under  the  direction  of  the  Royal 
Geographical   Society,   1865  to   18Y3. 

1  David  Livingstone,  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  14. 


David  Livingstone  6i 


A  MISSIONARY  UNDER  THE  LONDON 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 

When  Livingstone  reached  Cape  Town,  in  Residence  In 
1841,  he  went  at  once,  by  direction  of  the  Kuruman 
London  Missionary  Society,  to  Kuruman,  the 
mission  station  of  Moffat.  He  was  instructed 
to  remain  there  until  Moffat  should  return  from 
England,  after  which  he  was  to  form  a  new 
station  farther  north.  During  his  residence  at 
Kuruman,  Livingstone  formed  the  idea  that 
there  was  not  enough  native  population  there 
to  justify  the  missionary  society  in  concen- 
trating its  labors  at  that  point.  The  accuracy 
of  his  judgment  may  be  ascertained  by  a  glance 
at  a  recent  map  of  South  Africa,  which  will 
show  that  Kuruman  is  near  the  storm  center 
of  the  late  South  African  War  (half  way 
between  Kimberley  and  Mafeking).  The  native 
population  once  centered  there  is  slowly  being 
crowded  from  South  Africa. 

Livingstone  conceived  the  idea  that  the  pol- 
icy of  the  missionary  society  ought  to  be  one 
of  expansion.  He  thought  that  just  as  the 
early  Church,  after  preaching  the  gospel  in  a 
city  or  country,  moved  on  rapidly,  leaving  a 
train  of  converts  throughout  Asia  Minor,  so 
ought  the  Church  in  South  Africa  to  establish 
native  stations  rapidly  throughout  extensive 
regions,  and  not  to  concentrate  its  entire  work- 


62  The  Price  of  Africa 

ing  force  in  a  single  place.  While  in  England, 
Livingstone  had  thought  of  Kuruman  as  the 
center  of  a  great  missionary  institute,  which 
should  be  a  light  to  Africa,  but  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  population  seemed  likely  to  de- 
crease rather  than  to  increase,  he  soon  aban- 
doned this  idea. 
A  New  Station—  Taking  two  native  Christians  from  Kuru- 
^  °  ^'  man,  he  went  north  seven  hundred  miles  in 
company  with  a  brother  missionary.  This  Avas 
a  prospecting  tour  for  the  discovery  of  a  right 
location  for  a  new  mission.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  northeast  of  Kuruman  he  estab- 
lished the  mission  at  Mabotsa,  and  purchasing 
a  parcel  of  land  upon  his  o^vn  responsibility 
he  erected  a  hut  eighteen  by  fifty  feet,  hoping 
that  the  directors  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  would  approve.  He  wrote  in  his  char- 
acteristic way  that  if  they  did  not  approve,  he 
was  at  their  disposal  "to  go  anywhere,  pro- 
vided it  he  FORWARD."  ^  His  plan  now  was  to 
make  Mabotsa  the  center  from  which  native 
missionary  agencies  should  radiate  over  Africa. 
Li  his  thinking  he  marked  out  for  himself  a 
life-work  like  that  of  Moffat,  and  developed  a 
plan  for  the  establishment  of  a  training  sem- 
inary for  native  workers. 
His  Marriage         At  this  time  he  married  Mary  Moffat,  the 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  73. 


David  Livingstone  63 

daughter  of  Robert  Moffat,  the  great  mission- 

arj.     "The  young  couple  spent  their  first  year 

at  Mabotsa,  where  besides  a  good  house,  schools, 

and  church,  Livingstone  had  made  an  excellent 

garden." 

Leaving  a  native  helper  in  charge  of  this  Founds  New 

station,  Livingstone  iourneyed  eastward  in  re-  ^  *"''  ^* 
...         p  -n/r  1  1      1         1  •    -•  Chonuane 

sponse  to  an  invitation  irom  JMokhatla,  cniei 

of  a  native  tribe.  Surprised  at  the  unusual 
density  of  the  population,  Livingstone  decided 
to  found  a  school  at  Chonuane. 

By  this  time  he  became  deeply  impressed  Impressed  by  the 
with  the  idea  of  the  vastness  of  Africa,  and  the  fastness  of 
necessity  of  beginning  a  more  statesmanlike 
enterprise  to  reach  the  people.  Amid  his 
labors  as  a  missionary,  he  had  been  striving  to 
get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  country.  In 
doing  so  he  had  been  procuring  specimens  of 
entomology,  and  of  geology ;  he  had  been  mak- 
ing astronomical  observations,  and  had  been 
preparing  charts;  and  in  sending  these  speci- 
mens and  notes  to  friends  in  England,  he  fol- 
lowed each  point  of  information  by  the  ques- 
tion which  was  burning  into  his  soul,  "Who 

WILL    PENETEATE    THROUGH    AfRICA?"^ 

It  finally  became  necessary  for  Livingstone  Moves  Because 
to  move  from  Chonuane  on  account  of  drought.  •'  Drought 
He  therefore  went  forty  miles  westward  to 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  99. 


64  The  Price  of  Africa 

Kolobeng  which  was  situated  on  a  river.  The 
country  thereabouts  was  adapted  for  irrigation, 
and  Livingstone  proposed  to  establish  a  mission 
there  that  would  not  be  affected  by  drought. 
The  jealousy  of  the  Boers,  however,  greatly 
hindered  Livingstone's  plans  for  establishing 
the  mission.  Moreover  the  water  which  he 
had  hoped  to  utilize  in  irrigation  soon  failed. 
Lake  Ngami  Invited  by  Lechulatebe,  chief  of  the  people 
in  the  region  of  Lake  ISTgami,  Livingstone  de- 
cided to  visit  the  people  of  this  lake  region. 
Moreover  he  was  impelled  by  a  desire  to  see 
Sebituane,  the  great  chief  of  a  tribe  north  of 
Lake  ISTgami.  On  the  first  of  June,  1849,  he 
set  out  from  Kolobeng  on  this  difficult  jour- 
ney. August  1,  1849,  the  beautiful  waters  of 
Lake  l^gami  were  first  seen  by  European  eyes. 
Li  reaching  this  lake  it  was  necessary  to  cross 
the  South  African  Desert.  Again  and  again, 
well-appointed  expeditions  had  essayed  to  reach 
the  lake,  and  had  been  compelled  to  turn  back. 
It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  Livingstone's 
feat  in  reaching  Lake  ISTgami  should  have  as- 
tonished Europe. 
Attempt  to  Reach  But  the  dauntless  explorer  was  not  content 
Sebituane  ^^[i\i  this  achievement.  He  endeavored  to  press 
north  to  reach  Sebituane,  yet  because  of  the 
opposition  of  Lechulatebe,  whose  jealousy  was 


David  Livingstone  65 

aroused,  he  was  compelled  to  turn  back.  A 
second  attempt  was  made,  but  again  he  was 
thwarted  in  his  plans,  this  time  by  fever. 

The  case  now  clearly  outlined  itself  to  Liv-  Must  Seek  a  New 
ingstone.  Cut  off  from  the  east  in  missionary  Location 
effort  by  the  Boers,  on  the  south  by  inadequate 
population,  on  the  north  and  west  by  fevers 
which  raged  around  Lake  JSTgami,  he  deter- 
mined, whatever  the  cost,  to  go  northward  to 
seek  a  healthier  spot.  He  had  heard  of  a  well- 
watered  country  to  the  north  and  west,  with 
a  passage  to  the  west  coast. 

At  this  time  the  great  ruling  idea  of  his  Must  Seek  a 
life  was  born.  On  August  24,  1850,  he  wrote  ''"^^^e  to  the 
the  directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society: 
"We  must  have  a  passage  to  the  sea  on  either 
the  eastern  or  western  coast.  I  have  hitherto 
been  afraid  to  broach  the  subject  on  which  my 
perhaps  dreamy  imagination  dwells.  .  .  . 
Without  promising  anything,  I  mean  to  follow 
a  useful  motto  in  many  circumstances,  and  try 
again.  "^ 

Returning  to  Kalobeng,  Livingstone  found  Death  of  Daughter 
that  his  infant  daughter  had  become  the  vic- 
tim of  an  epidemic  then  raging.     He  wrote, 
"Hers  is  the  first  grave  in  all  that  country 
marked  as  the  resting-place  of  one  of  whom 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  122. 


66  The  Price  of  Africa 

it  is  believed  and  confessed,  that  slie  shall  live 
again."^ 
Sebifuane's         After  burying  his  child,  he  turned  his  steps 
ountry  northward  and  westward,  for  the  third  attempt 
to  reach  Sebituane.     This  attempt  was  success- 
ful.    On  this  journey,  as  on  the  preceding  one, 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  children. 
Sebituane  was  friendly  to  Livingstone,  and  was 
considered  by  him  to  be  the  best  chief  he  had 
met  in  Africa.     This  chief  promised  to  select 
a  suitable  missionary  station,  and  to  co-operate 
with  Livingstone  in  every  way.    But  soon  after 
this,  Sebituane  was  seized  with  inflammation  of 
the  lungs,  and  he  died  within  a  fortnight.    This 
circumstance,    together    with    other    untoward 
events,  convinced  Livingstone  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  secure  a  suitable  missionary  sta- 
tion in  Sebituane's  country,  so  that  he  was  com- 
pelled reluctantly  to  retrace  his  steps  all  the 
way  to  Kolobeng. 
The  Regions         Upon    his    return    to    Kolobeng,    friends 
Beyond  urged  him  to  remain  and  settle  down.     Living- 
stone replied:   "If  I  were  to  follow  my  own 
inclinations,  they  would  lead  me  to  settle  down 
quietly  with  the  Bakwains,  or  some  other  small 
tribe,  and  devote  some  of  my  time  to  my  chil- 
dren; hut  Providence  seems  to  call  me  to  the 
regions  heyondy'^ 

'  Personal  Life  of  David.  Livingstone.    Page  123. 
s  Ibid,    Page  186. 


David  Livingstone  67 

His  previous  experience  had  convinced  Liv-  Sends  Wife  and 
ingstone  that  he  must  not  again  take  his  wife  Children  to 
and  children  into  this  fever-stricken  country.  "^*" 
He  had  now  reached  that  supreme  crisis  in  the 
life  of  a  missionary  when  the  wife  and  children 
must  return  to  the  homeland.  He  accom- 
panied his  family  to  the  Cape,  bade  them  fare- 
well as  they  sailed  for  England,  and  with  a 
heavy  heart  again  turned  his  face  to  the  north, 
towards  the  great  interior.  As  in  early  days 
he  left  his  boyhood  home,  so  now,  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  Dark  Continent,  he  gave  up 
the  home  he  had  made  in  Africa.  From  that 
day  forward,  Livingstone,  like  Him  whom  he 
served,  was  in  the  most  literal  sense,  homeless. 
He  was  never  able  to  bring  his  family  together 
again.  What  the  separation  cost  him  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  extract  from  one 
of  his  letters: 

"My  Deakest  Maky:  How  I  miss  you 
now,  and  the  children !  My  heart  yearns  in- 
cessantly over  you.  How  many  thoughts  of 
the  past  crowd  into  my  mind!  I  feel  as  if  I 
would  treat  you  all  much  more  tenderly  and 
lovingly  than  ever.  You  have  been  a  great 
blessing  to  me.  You  attended  to  my  comfort 
in  many,  many  ways.  May  God  bless  you  for 
all  your  kindness!  I  see  no  face  now  to  be 
compared  with  that  sunburnt  one  which  has  so 
5 


68  The  Price  of  Africa 

often  greeted  me  with  its  kind  looks.  Let  us 
do  our  duty  to  our  Savior,  and  we  shall  meet 
again.  I  wish  that  time  were  now.  You  may 
read  the  letters  over  again  which  I  wrote  at 
Mabotsa,  the  sweet  time  you  know.  As  I  told 
you  before,  I  tell  you  again:  they  are  true, 
true;  there  is  not  a  bit  of  hypocrisy  in  them. 
I  never  show  all  my  feelings ;  but  I  can  say 
truly,  my  dearest,  that  I  loved  you  when  I 
married  you,  and  the  longer  I  lived  with  you 
I  loved  you  the  better." 
Threefold  Purpose  Livingstone's  purpose  was  now  threefold: 
First,  to  find  a  healthful  location  for  a  mission 
north  of  Lake  ISTgami.  Second,  to  open  up  a 
way  for  commerce  to  the  west  coast,  since  the 
distance  of  the  proposed  mission  station  from 
the  Cape  would  be  too  great  to  permit  of  com- 
munication with  that  point.  Third,  by  intro- 
ducing legitimate  commerce,  to  do  away  with 
the  slave  trade  which  was  an  insurmountable 
barrier  to  successful  missionary  operations. 
It  soon  became  evident  that  he  was  to  be  baf- 
fled in  his  search  for  a  healthful  location. 
He  therefore  concentrated  his  energy  upon  the 
second  and  third  points  in  the  program  which 
he  had  laid  out  for  himself. 
A  Path  to  the  After  a  terrible  journey  of  seven  months, 
West  Coast  involving  imminent  starvation  and  endless  ex- 
posure, Livingstone  at  last  reached  the  Portu- 


David  Livingstone  69 

guese  settlement  of  St.  Paul  De  Loanda,  on  the 
west  coast.  Thirty  attacks  of  fever  had  so 
weakened  him  that  he  could  hardly  mount  his 
ox,  but  if  the  journey  was  at  great  cost,  the 
rewards  also  were  great.^  "The  story  of  in- 
credible hardship,  sickness,  hunger,  constant 
wading  through  swollen  streams,  delays  and 
harrassing  exactions  of  hostile  tribes,"  enabled 
him  to  gain  the  sympathetic  ear  of  the  Chris- 
tian world.  Moreover,  by  a  single  act  of  moral 
heroism  at  Loanda,  he  became  "the  best  known, 
best  loved,  and  most  perfectly  trusted  man  in 
Africa."^  Immediately  after  reaching  Loanda, 
he  was  prostrated  by  a  very  severe  illness. 
The  perils  of  the  journey  had  so  weakened  him 
that  he  was  "a  skeleton  almost  consumed  by 
dysentery  and  famine."  An  English  ship  in 
the  harbor  at  Loanda  was  about  to  sail  for  the 
homeland.  In  his  great  weakness  he  longed 
for  the  air  of  the  Scottish  highlands,  and  for 
the  sight  of  his  beloved  Mary  and  the  children. 
He  knew  that  he  would  be  royally  welcomed 
at  home,  and  there  was  no  one  to  urge  him  to 
stay.  But  Livingstone  prepared  his  reports, 
his  charts,  his  observations,  and  putting  them 
aboard,  he  watched  the  ship  set  sail,  and  he  pre- 
pared for  a  two  years'  march,  "two  thousand 
miles  long,  through  jungle,  swamp,  and  desert." 

1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  44. 
a  Ibid.    Page  46. 


7©  The  Price  of  Africa 

"Why  did  he  not  go  home  ?"  There  is  just 
one  answer.  He  had  promised  his  native  help- 
ers that  if  they  would  journey  with  him  to  the 
coast,  he  would  see  them  back  to  their  homes. 
"His  word  to  the  black  men  of  Africa  was 
just  as  sacred  as  it  would  have  been  if  pledged 
to  the  Queen.  He  kept  it  as  faithfully  as  an 
oath  made  to  Almighty  God."^ 

Through  the         Of  the  journey  through  the  heart  of  Africa, 
Heart  of  Africa  £j.^j^  Loanda  on  the  west  coast,  to  Quilimane 
<rom  the  West  to  ...  .,,.,,  j, 

the  East  Coast  ^^  *^^  ^^^^  coast,  it  is  impossible  m  briei  com- 
pass to  speak.  Everyu'here  and  all  the  time 
Livingstone  preached  to  the  natives  and  healed 
the  sick  of  their  diseases.  On  this  journey  he 
discovered  the  wonderful  Victoria  Falls,  and 
two  magnificent  mountain  ranges  which  were 
free  from  the  fever  and  the  deadly  tsetse  fly. 
By  crossing  the  continent  he  performed  a  feat 
never  before  accomplished  by  a  European,  and 
amid  all  the  difficulties  of  the  journey,  as  the 
royal  astronomer,  Maclear,  has  said:  "He  has 
done  that  which  few  other  travelers  in  Africa 
can  boast  of:  He  has  fixed  his  geographical 
points  with  very  great  accuracy,  and  yet  he  is 
only  a  poor  missionary."  * 

First  Visit  to         Sixteen  years  after  Livingstone  left  Eng- 
^^^     land,  he  returned  for  a  brief  visit.     He  found 


1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  46. 

'Personal  Life  of  Dnvld  Livingstone.    Page  184. 


David  Livingstone  71 

himself  "almost  tlie  most  famous  man  in  Lon- 
don."^ Presented  to  the  royal  family,  given 
the  freedom  of  cities,  welcomed  by  Lord 
Shaftesbury,  given  a  gold  medal  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  "for  the  greatest  tri- 
umph in  geographical  research  effected  in  our 
times,"  lionized  everywhere  he  went,  Living- 
stone "made  it  a  rule  never  to  read  anything 
of  praise,"^  and  in  the  midst  of  his  triumph 
he  was  planning  to  plunge  once  more  into  the 
darkness  of  Africa.  In  a  most  impressive  ad- 
dress at  Cambridge,  he  said  to  the  students: 
"I  beg  to  direct  your  attention  to  Africa.  I 
know  that  in  a  few  years  I  shall  be  cut  off  in 
that  country,  which  is  now  open;  do  not  let  it 
be  shut  again!  I  go  back  to  Africa  to  make 
an  open  path  for  commerce  and  Christianity; 
do  you  carry  out  the  work  which  I  have  begun. 

I  LEAVE  IT  WITH  YOU."  ^ 

AN  EXPLORER  REPRESENTING  HER 
MAJESTY'S  GOVERNMENT 

As  soon  as   he   could   arrange  his   affairs.  Returns  to  Africa 

and  after  placing  his  children  in  school,  Liv-  '"  Government 

„  T  .1    Employ 

ingstone,  with  his  wife  and  young  son,  set  sail. 

This  time  Livingstone  wore  a  gold  band  around 


>  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  47. 

'Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  414. 

8  Ibid.    Page  244. 


Exploration 


72  The  Price  of  Africa 

his  hat  (the  blue  cap  by  which  he  was  after- 
ward identified  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Africa),  indicating  that  he  had  been 
made  an  official  representative  of  Her  Majesty's 
government.  He  had  been  appointed  Consul 
to  Quilimane,  and  commander  of  a  government 
expedition  for  the  exploration  of  the  eastern 
and  central  portions  of  Africa. 

The  Extent  of  the  A  glance  at  the  map  will  reveal  the  extent 
of  the  exploration  made  on  this  second  jour- 
ney. In  spite  of  untold  discouragements,  the 
Zambezi  and  its  tributaries  were  explored, 
beautiful  Lake  ITyassa  was  discovered,  and  the 
Shire  River,  hitherto  unknown,  was  discovered 
and  explored. 

The  Death  of  His  In  discovering  this  new  river,  Livingstone 
also  found  the  last  resting-place  of  his  wife. 
In  his  diary,  May  19,  1862,  is  this  entry: 
''Vividly  do  I  remember  my  first  passage  down 
in  1856,  passing  Shupanga  house  without  land- 
ing, and  looking  at  its  red  hills  and  white  vales 
with  the  impression  that  it  was  a  beautiful  spot. 
ISTo  suspicion  glanced  across  my  mind  that  there 
my  loving  wife  would  be  called  to  give  up  the 
ghost  six  years  afterward.  In  some  other  spot 
I  may  have  looked  at,  my  own  resting-place 
may  be  allotted."^  The  death  of  Mrs.  Living- 
stone occurred  April  27,  1862,  at  Shupanga, 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  318. 


Wife 


so' 


LIVIMGSTOME'S 

SECOND 

JOl/RN£y. 


JUL 


74  The  Price  of  Africa 

on  tlie  banks  of  the  Shire.  Livingstone  was 
found  "sitting  by  the  side  of  a  rude  bed  formed 
of  boxes,  but  covered  -svith  a  soft  mattress,  on 
which  lay  his  dying  wife.  .  .  .  And  the 
man  who  had  faced  so  many  deaths,  and  braved 
so  many  dangers,  was  now  utterly  broken 
down  and  weeping  like  a  child."  In  his  jour- 
nal he  wrote:  "It  is  the  first  heavy  stroke  I 
have  suffered,  and  quite  takes  away  my 
strength.  ...  I  loved  her  when  I  married 
her,  and  the  longer  I  lived  with  her  I  loved  her 
the  more.  .  .  .  O  my  Mary,  my  Mary! 
how  often  we  have  longed  for  a  quiet  home, 
since  you  and  I  were  cast  adrift  at  Kolobeng."^ 

Grief  can  not  Difficult  as  it  was  to  nerve  himself  for  effort, 
Hinder  Livingstone  would  not  permit  this  great  grief 
to  hinder  the  work  which  he  had  set  out  to  do. 
He  was  frustrated  at  every  hand  by  the  Portu- 
guese slave-traders.  In  1863  he  wrote:  "We 
have  not  been  able  to  do  all  that  we  intended 
for  this  country  owing  to  the  jealousy  and 
slave-hunting  of  the  Portuguese.  They  have 
hindered  us  effectually,  and  everywhere  we  go 
human  skeletons  appear."  Beset  on  every 
hand,  it  was  a  time  of  great  discouragement. 

The  ExpedKion         To  cap  the  climax,  the  Government  expe- 

Recalled  (Jj^^qj^  -^y^g  recalled,  and  he  was  compelled  to 

set  out  for  a  second  visit  to  England.     This 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  817. 


David  Livingstone  75 

time  he  went  with  a  new  purpose  in  his  heart: 
to  raise  up  friends  who  would  enable  him  to 
return  to  Africa  and  find  a  new  route  to  Cen- 
tral Africa  other  than  that  through  the  Por- 
tuguese settlement.  After  a  brief  stay  in  Eng- 
land he  was  enabled  to  return  to  Africa  for  the 
third  time,  this  time  at  the  head  of  an  expedi- 
tion under  the  auspices  of  the  Koyal  Geograph- 
ical Society. 

LAST  JOURNEY  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES 

OF  THE  ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL 

SOCIETY 

In  1866  he  reached  the  African  Ooast,  and  Search  for  the 
began  what  was  destined  to  be  his  last  lour-  Sources  of  the 
ney.  Under  instructions  from  the  Koyal  Geo- 
graphical Society  he  began  a  search  for  the  wa- 
tershed of  Central  Africa  and  the  sources  of 
the  Nile.  In  all  his  travels  he  did  not  forget 
his  purpose  to  find  a  route  to  Central  Africa. 
More  than  ever  he  seemed  overshadowed  by 
religious  thought  and  motives.  It  was  an  in- 
spiration to  him  to  think  that  he  was  in  the 
part  of  the  world  where  Moses  once  was. 

It  was  well  for  Livingstone  that  he  was  Untold  Hardships 
buoyed  up  by  a  great  purpose.    His  other  jour-  "'  ^^^  -"""""^y 
neys  were  child's  play  in  comparison  with  the 
hardships  of  this.    Again  and  again  his  strength 
utterly  failed.     Soon  after  starting  he  lost  his 


76  The  Price  of  Africa 

medicine  chest,  and  he  writes:  "I  am  excess- 
ively weak,  and  can  not  walk  without  totter- 
ing,  and   have   constant  singing  in  the   head. 
.     .     .     After  I  had  been  here  for  a  few  days 
I  had  a  fit  of  insensibility,  which  shows  the 
power  of  fever  without  medicine."* 
Half  Starved         He  was  compelled  to  eat  the  roots  of  trees 
and  the  hard  maize  found  in  that  region.     So 
poorly  nourished  was  he  that  his  teeth  fell  out, 
and  he  became  so  emaciated  that  he  himself 
was  frightened  when  he  saw  his  form  reflected. 
Slave-Traders  His         "He  was  dependent  upon  men  who  were  not 
Constant  Enemies  ^j^j^  knaves  of  the  first  magnitude,  but  who  had 
a  special  animosity  against  him  and  a  special 
motive  to  deceive,  rob,   and  obstruct  him  in 
every  possible  way."^ 
In  Terrible         "Fallen    trees    and    flooded    rivers    made 
Physical  marching  a  perpetual  struggle.     For  the  first 
time  Livingstone's  feet  failed  him.     Instead  of 
healing,  as  hitherto,  when  torn  by  hard  travel, 
irritating  sores  fastened  upon  them." 
In  Great         "Probably  no  human  being  was  ever  in  cir- 
cumstances parallel  to  those  in  which  Living- 
stone now  stood.     Years  had  passed  since  he 
had  heard  from  home.  The  sound  of  his  mother 
tongue  came  to  him  only  in  the  broken  sen- 
tences of  Chuma  or  Susi  or  his  other  attend- 


Loneliness 


>  David  Livingstone,  Missionary  Annals  Series.    Page  78. 
•Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  410. 


yS  The  Price  of  Africa 

ants,  or  in  the  echoes  of  his  own  voice  as  he 
poured  it  out  in  prayer,  or  in  some  cry  of  home- 
sickness that  could  not  be  kept  in."^ 

Tise  Horrors  of         "One  bright  summer  morning,  July  15th, 

ihe  Slave-Trade  -^l^en  fifteen  hundred  people,  chiefly  women, 
were  engaged  peaceiully  m  marketmg  m  a  vil- 
lage on  the  banks  of  the  Lualaba,  and  while 
Dr.  Livingstone  was  sauntering  about,  a  mur- 
derous fire  was  opened  on  the  people,  and  a 
massacre  ensued  of  such  measureless  atrocity 
that  he  could  describe  it  only  by  saying  that 
it  gave  him  the  impression  of  being  in  hell."^ 

His  Life  Was  in  "On  the  8th  of  August  they  came  to  an 
ambush  all  prepared;  but  it  had  been  aban- 
doned for  some  unknown  reason.  By  and  by, 
on  the  same  day,  a  large  spear  flew  past  Liv- 
ingstone, grazing  his  neck.  The  native  who 
flung  it  was  but  ten  yards  off.  The  hand  of 
God  alone  saved  his  life."^  Four  times  in  the 
journey  of  two  thousand  miles  he  was  in  immi- 
nent danger  of  violent  death. 

He  was  Left  in  "On  the  23d  of  October,  reduced  to  a  liv- 
eep  over  y  -^^^  skeleton,  he  reached  Ujiji,"  after  a  perilous 
journey  of  six  hundred  miles,  taken  expressly 
to  secure  supplies.  "What  was  his  misery,  in- 
stead of  finding  the  abundance  of  goods  he  had 


1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  421. 
»Ibld.    Page  428. 
•Ibid.    Page  430. 


David  Livingstone  79 

expected,  to  learn  that  the  wretch  Shereef,  to 
whom  they  had  been  consigned,  had  sold  off 
the  whole,  not  leaving  one  yard  of  calico  out 
of  three  thousand,  or  one  string  of  beads  out 
of  seven  hundred  pounds."^ 

"For  years  Livingstone  received  no  letters  He  Was  lost  to 
from  the  home  land,  and  the  letters  which  he  ^^^  Outer  World 
sent  were  nearly  all  destroyed  by  the  Portu-      / 
guese.     Of  forty  letters  from  the  home  land,      / 
thirty-nine  were  lost  by  the  slaves  who  had 
been  sent  up  from  the  coast." 

"Apart  from  his  sense  of  duty  there  was 
no  necessity  for  his  remaining  there.  He  was 
offering  himself  a  free-will  offering."^ 

He  writes :  "I  read  the  whole  Bible  through  He  Was 

four  times  while  I  was  at  Manyuema."     "So  ^"'^''"'^  ^^ "" 

Unseen  Power 
this  lonely  man,  in  his  dull  hut,  was  riveted 

to  the  well-worn  book,  ever  finding  it  a  greater     ■ 
treasure  as  he  goes  along,  and  fain,  when  he 
has  reached  the  last  page,  to  turn  back  again 
and  gather  up  more  of  the  riches  which  he  has 
left  upon  the  road."^ 

The    closing    scenes    of    this    great    man's  The  Closing 
life   were    a    fit    climax   to    his    career.      The  ^"^^"^ 
greatest  anxiety  had  been  occasioned  in  Eng- 
land by  conflicting  rumors  concerning  Living- 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.    Page  431. 
"Ibid.    Page  421. 
8  Ibid.    Page  423. 


8o  The  Price  of  Africa 

stone's  death.  In  1867  the  Royal  Geograph- 
ical Society  organized  an  expedition  which 
reached  Africa  in  July  of  the  same  year,  and 
in  a  steel  boat,  The  Search,  ascended  the  river 
to  l^yassa,  and  learned  from  the  natives  there 
that  Livingstone  was  still  alive,  although  they 
did  not  find  Livingstone  himself. 
Livingstone  and  Stanley,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  James 
Stanley  Gordon  Bennett,  of  the  I^ew  York  Herald,  with 
the  instruction,  "Take  what  you  want,  but  find 
Livingstone,"  reached  Africa  in  1871.  After 
eleven  months  of  incredible  hardships  Stanley 
found  Livingstone  in  the  heart  of  Africa. 

The  acquaintance  thus  begun  soon  ripened 
into  the  warmest  friendship.  Of  Stanley,  Liv- 
ingstone writes:  "He  laid  all  he  had  at  my  serv- 
ice, divided  his  clothes  into  two  heaps,  and 
pressed  the  better  heap  upon  me;  then  his 
medicine  chest,  his  goods,  and  everything  he 
had,  and,  to  coax  my  appetite,  he  often  cooked 
dainty  dishes  with  his  own  hands."  In  the  few 
days  they  were  together  Livingstone  exerted 
a  remarkable  influence  over  Stanley. 

A  Welsh  boy  named  John  Rowlands, 
brought  up  and  educated  in  a  poor-house;  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  shipped  as  cabin  boy; 
adopted  by  an  American  merchant  in  New  Or- 
leans by  the  name  of  Stanley;  a  soldier  in  the 
Confederate  army,  a  prisoner  of  war;  a  volun- 


David  Livingstone  8i 

teer  in  the  Federal  navy,  where  lie  became  en- 
sign on  the  ironclad  Ticonderoga;  after  the  war 
a  newspaper  correspondent  and  adventurer — 
such  was  Henry  M.  Stanley,  sent  to  find  Living- 
stone; and  this  man  became  literally  trans- 
formed by  association  for  a  few  days  with  a 
heroic  Christian  character. 

On  March  14th,  the  day  Stanley  and  Liv-  Livingstone  left 
ingstone  parted  company,  the  former  made  the  *'""' 
following  entry  in  his  diary:  "My  days  seem 
to  have  been  spent  in  an  Elysian  field;  other- 
wise, why  should  I  so  keenly  regret  the  near 
approach  of  the  parting  hour  ?  Have  I  not  been 
battered  by  successive  fevers,  prostrate  with 
agony  day  after  day  lately  ?  Have  I  not  raved 
and  stormed  in  madness  ?  Have  I  not  clenched 
my  fists  in  fury,  and  fought  with  the  wild 
strength  of  despair  when  in  delirium?  Yet  I 
regret  to  surrender  the  pleasure  I  have  felt 
in  this  man's  society,  though  so  dearly  pur- 
chased." "We  had  a  sad  breakfast  together. 
I  could  not  eat.  My  heart  was  too  full.  ITei- 
ther  did  my  companion  seem  to  have  an  appe- 
tite. We  found  something  to  do  which  kept 
us  longer  together.  At  eight  o'clock  I  was 
not  gone,  and  I  had  thought  to  have  been  off 
at  5  A.  M.  .  .  .  We  walked  side  by  side. 
The  men  lifted  their  voices  in  a  song.  I  took 
long  looks  at  Livingstone,  to  impress  his  fea- 


82  The  Price  of  Africa 

tures  thoroughly  on  my  memory.  .  .  . 
^l!^ow,  my  dear  doctor,  the  best  of  friends  must 
part.  You  have  come  far  enough.  Let  me 
beg  of  you  to  turn  back.'  'Well/  Livingstone 
replied,  'I  will  say  this  to  you:  You  have  done 
what  few  men  could  do — far  better  than  some 
great  travelers  I  know.  And  I  am  grateful 
to  you  for  what  you  have  done  for  me.  God 
guide  you  safe  home,  and  bless  you,  my 
friend.'  .  .  .  'And  may  God  bring  you 
safe  back  to  us  all,  my  dear  friend.  Farewell !' 
Tarewell!'"! 

The  parting  of  Livingstone  and  Stanley  re- 
calls once  more  and  vividly  the  parting  of  the 
father  and  his  son  in  the  early  days  in  bonny 
Scotland. 

The  English  biographer  of  Livingstone 
writes:  "One  thing  was  fixed  and  certain  from 
the  beginning:  Livingstone  would  not  go  home 
with  Stanley.  Much  though  his  heart  yearned 
for  home  and  family — all  the  more  that  he  had 
just  learned  that  his  son  Thomas  had  had  a 
dangerous  accident — and  much  though  he 
needed  to  recruit  his  strength  and  nurse  his 
ailments,  he  would  not  think  of  it  while  his 
work  remained  unfinished."^ 
The  last  Days         Xhe  last  sad  journey  was  heavy  with  pain 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone,    Page  447. 
3  Ibid.    Page  443. 


David  Livingstone  83 

and  sorrow.  Through  all  the  weary  months 
of  travel  and  hardship  the  great  spirit  rose  to 
sublime  heights,  and  Scotch  pluck  smiled  at 
impossibilities.  On  March  24th  he  wrote: 
"Nothing  earthly  will  make  me  give  up  my  work 
in  despair.  I  encourage  myself  in  the  Lord 
my  Godj  and  go  forward."^ 

In  April  he  reached  Ilala,  on  the  southwest 
shore  of  Lake  Bangweolo.  During  the  month 
entries  in  his  journal  had  been  few.  The  clear 
writing  which  in  the  early  days  had  resembled 
a  steel  engraving  now  became  uncertain,  and 
the  lines  were  erratic. 

In  the  beginning  of  April  the  internal 
bleeding  from  which  he  had  been  suffering  be- 
came more  copious,  and  his  weakness  was  piti- 
ful; yet  he  longed  for  strength  to  finish  his 
work.  So  weak  was  he  that  he  had  to  be  car- 
ried on  a  palanquin.  The  pains  were  excruci- 
ating, and  still  his  men  went  forward,  crossing 
rivers  and  splashing  through  swamps. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  at  evening,  he  reached  Ilala 
Chitambo's  village  at  Ilala.  A  drizzling  rain 
was  falling.  The  carriers  were  compelled  to 
put  Livingstone  under  the  broad  eaves  of  a 
house  until  a  new  hut  could  be  prepared.  On 
the  thirtieth  day  of  April  the  great  man  lay, 

1  Personal  Life  of  David  Llviiigstoiie.    Page  464 
6 


84  The  Price  of  Africa 

with  his  body  spent,  but  his  mind  going  out 
to  "the  regions  beyond."  On  the  1st  of  May, 
18Y3,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  boy 
who  lay  at  the  door  called  for  Susi.  In  alarm 
they  gathered  the  other  attendants  together, 
and  looked  in  at  the  door  of  the  hut.  By  the 
light  of  the  candle  still  burning  they  saw  Liv- 
ingstone, not  in  bed,  as  they  had  left  him,  but 
kneeling  in  prayer  at  the  bedside.  His  head 
was  buried  in  his  hands  upon  the  pillow.  At 
the  farthest  point  in  his  journey,  with  no  at- 
tendant, th^  tired  form  fell  gently  forward, 
the  soul  went  out  to  its  Maker,  and  the  body 
remained  in  the  attitude  of  prayer — "Prayer 
offered  in  that  reverential  attitude  about  which 
he  was  always  so  particular,  commending  his 
own  spirit,  with  all  his  dear  ones,  as  was  his 
wont,  into  the  hands  of  his  Savior,  and  com- 
mending Africa — his  own,  dear  Africa — with 
all  her  woes  and  sins  and  wrongs  to  the  Avenger 
of  the  oppressed  and  the  Redeemer  of  the 
lost." 
Tlie  Rude  Figure  Eulogies  are  unseemly  in  the  dim  light  of 
of  a  Cross  that  death-chamber.  The  great  men  of  earth 
have  vied  with  each  other  in  paying  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  David  Livingstone ;  but  no  more 
significant  words  will  be  uttered  than  were 
pronounced  by  Stanley  before  the  Methodist 


David  Livingstone  85 

preachers  of  "New  York:  "If  you  look  at  the 
illustration  of  his  route,  you  will  see  that  it 
is  the  rude  figure  of  the  cross.  And  now  you 
may  be  able  to  draw  the  moral  point  I  have  to 
tell  you.  You  have  asked  me  what  have  been 
the  causes  of  missionaries  being  imperiled. 
Wherever  that  good  man  went,  he  was  received. 
A  few  rejected  him;  but  the  majority  listened 
to  him  calmly  and  kindly,  and  some  of  them 
felt  quite  ready  to  be  of  his  profession  and  of 
his  belief.  But  the  words  that  he  dropped  were 
similar  to  those  of  the  angels  heard  over  Beth- 
lehem, 'Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men.'  On 
the  other  hand,  in  jSTorthern  Africa  it  was  an 
attempt  to  invade  by  violence,  and  it  failed, 
and  there  was  not  one  that  had  the  courage  to 
step  out  of  the  ranks  and  press  on.  They  re- 
turned. But  this  lone  missionary  pressed  on 
and  on  until  he  had  drawn  the  rude  figure  of 
a  cross  on  the  southern  continent  of  Africa, 
and  then  he  said  with  his  dying  words:  'All  I 
can  add  in  my  loneliness  is,  May  Heaven's  rich- 
est blessing  come  down  on  every  one — Amer- 
ican, English,  Turk — who  will  help  to  heal  this 
open  sore  of  the  world.'  'And  the  cross  turns 
not  back.'  The  open  sore  will  be  healed.  Af- 
rica will  be  redeemed."^ 


i  Picket  Line  of  Missions,  page  64, 


86  The  Price  of  Africa 

That  sweet  singer,  Florence  Nightingale,  in 
writing  a  letter  to  Dr.  Livingstone's  daughter, 
fittingly  quoted  these  words: 

"  'He  climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  heaven, 
Through  peril,  toil,  and  pain; 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 
To  follow  in  his  train!'  " 


Facsimile  of  an  Epitaph  in  Westminster  Abbey. 


>  w 


a  ^             Brought  by  Faithful  Hands  s~~ 

S  g                       Over  Land  and  Sea  ^  g 

>  w                              Here  Rests  B  ^ 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  s^ 

i-iH                              Missionary,  w  ►j 

^  Tj                               Traveler,  g  ^ 

Se  *""                        Philanthropist,  ^  g 

w  >                      Born  March  19,  1813,  O  ^ 

5  H              At  Blantyre,  Lanarkshire.  g^ 

'^  ^^                        Died  May  1,  1873,  ^  g 

At  Chitambo's  Village,  Ulala.  g  ^ 

^  W       For  thirty  years  his  life  was  spent  ^  ^ 

^  w                   IN  an  unwearied  effort  S  § 

"^  ^          To  evangelize  the  native  races,  ^  '^ 

a  §     To  explore  the  undiscovered  secrets,  "-^^ 

r;  o  To  abolish  the  desolating  Slave  Trade,  ^  g 

a  1^                      Of  Central  Africa,  o 

Where  with  his  last  words  he  wrote,  2  « 

^  hq       "All  I  CAN  add  in  my  solitude,  is,  <  t 

<  f    May  Heaven's  rich  blessing  come  down  g  ^ 

o  ••  ON  EVERY  ONE,  American,  English,  OR  Turk,  p 

2                               AVHO   WILL   help  TO   HEAL  ^  < 

2                  IHIS   OPEN    SORE    OF   THE   WORLD.'"  "    G* 


«    DO 


David  Livingstone  87 


/n  Memoriam. 

"  Open  the  Abbey  doors  and  bear  him  in 
To  sleep   with  king  and    statesman,   chief 
and  sage, 
The  missionary  come  of  weaver  kin, 
But  great  by  work  that  brooks  no  lower 
wage. 

He  needs  no  epitaph  to  guard  a  name 
Which  man  shall  prize  while  worthy  work 
is  known ; 

He  lived  and  died  for  good — be  this  his  fame : 
Let  marble  crumble :  this  is  Living-stone." 


"  Punch"  on  David  Livingstone. 

Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  Where  and  in  what  year  was  Livingstone  born? 

2.  What  historic  events  cluster  around  the  year  of 

Livingstone's  birth? 

3.  What  was  Livingstone's  providential  preparation 

for  his  life-work? 

4.  What  constituted  his  call? 

5.  Tell  of  the  farewell  scene  at  Livingstone's  home. 

6.  Characterize  Livingstone,  the  missionary. 

7.  Give  the  three  periods  of  Livingstone's  work  in 

Africa.  When  did  he  first  reach  Africa,  and 
under  what  auspices? 

8.  Tell  of  his  residence  at  Kuruman,  Mabotsa,  and 

Chonuane.  Why  did  Livingstone  move  from 
one  place  to  the  other?  Locate  these  places  on 
the  map. 


88  The  Price  of  Africa 

9.  Whom  did  Livingstone  marry? 

10.  What  deep   impression  was  made  upon   Living- 

stone's mind  at  this  period,  and  what  burning 
question  did  he  append  to  his  letters  to  Eng- 
land? 

11.  What  was  Livingstone's  purpose  in  going  to  Lake 

Ngami?  How  many  attempts  did  he  malie  to 
reach  Sebituane? 

12.  What    impelled    Livingstone   to    seek   a   passage 

to  the  coast,  and  what  was  his  threefold  pur- 
pose? 

13.  Tell  of  the  journey  to  Loanda. 

14.  Where    did    Livingstone    go    from    Loanda,    and 

what  discoveries  did  he  malie?  Trace  the  jour- 
ney on  the  map. 

15.  How  long  after  he  left  England  till  his  first  re- 

turn? Tell  something  of  the  first  visit  to  Eng- 
land. 

16.  Under  what  auspices  did  Livingstone  return  to 

Africa?  Tell  something  of  the  second  journey 
and  of  Livingstone's  great  sorrow. 

17.  In  what  year  did  Livingstone  begin  his  last  jour- 

ney, and  under  what  auspices? 

18.  Tell  something  of  the  hardships  of  the  journey. 

19.  Tell  of  the  horrors  of  the  slave-trade. 

20.  What  use  did  Livingstone  make  of  his  Bible  dur- 

ing this  period? 

21.  Tell  of  the  meeting  of  Livingstone  and  Stanley. 

Who  was  Stanley?    What  of  the  parting  scene? 

22.  Recount  the  experiences  of  the  last  days. 

23.  In  what  attitude  was  Livingstone  found? 

24.  Give  the  substance  of  Stanley's  remarks  before 

the  New  York  Preachers'  Meeting. 

25.  Repeat  Livingstone's  farewell  message. 


David  Livingstone  89 


Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  WorI<. 

Note.— The  references  below  are  to  "The  Personal  Life  of 
David  Livingstone  "  (Blailiie),  which  will  be  found  in  Mission- 
ary Campaign  Library,  No.  1. 

1.  Difficulties   of   African   travel,   as   illustrated   by- 

Livingstone's  journeys,  55,  70,  71,  109,  125,  153, 
154,  169-171,  175,  176,  303-305,  398,  400,  431,  461. 

2.  "Special  Providences,"  as  illustrated   by  Living- 

stone's frequent  escapes  from  impending  danger, 
83,  84,  175,  176,  184,  197-199,  212,  289,  303, 
343-345, 

3.  The  climate  of  Africa  and  general  physical  char- 

acteristics, 100,  107,  115,  116,  172,  174,  347-352, 
381,  459,  499-501. 

4.  The  geography  of  Africa  in  its  relation  to  Liv- 

ingstone's journeys.  See  maps  of  first,  second, 
and  third  journeys. 

5.  Livingstone's  contribution  to  science,  98,  99,  118, 

119,  183-185,  236,  237,  336,  455,  456,  499-501. 

6.  The  wonderful  faithfulness  of  Livingstone's  serv- 

ants, Chuma  and  Susi,  in  burying  Livingstone's 
heart  in  Africa  and  in  taking  the  body  to  the 
coast,  465-468. 

7.  Livingstone's  idea  of  missionary  sacrifice,  29-31, 

34-36,  154,  155,  169,  170,  334,  493-499. 

8.  Honors  accorded  Livingstone  at  the  time  of  his 

first  and  second  visits  home,  and  his  attitude 
toward  them,  218-225,  230,  235-246,  507,  508. 

9.  Henry  M,  Stanley.    432,  436-451. 

10.  The  secret  of  Livingstone's  life  and  his  legacy 
to  Africa— as  a  spotless  Christian  name  and 
character,  489-492. 


90  The  Price  of  Africa 


Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  The  question  of  the  Africau  watershed  and  of  the 

sources  of  the  Nile. 

2.  A  historical  sunvey  of  the  slave-trade. 

3.  The   difference   between   the   slave-trade   and    do- 

mestic slavery  (slavery  within  a  tribe). 

4.  The  Boers  in  South  Africa  and  their  attitude  to- 

ward Christian  missions. 

5.  The  important  discoveries  of  Livingstone. 


ADOLPHUS   C.  GOOD 


Born,  West  Mahoning,  Pa.,  December  19,  1856. 

Died,  Efulen,  West  Africa,  December, 

13,  1894.    Age,  Thibty-eight. 


"  If  this  journey  shall  open  a  road  for  the  light  to  enter  this 
dark  region  into  which  I  have  penetrated  a  little  way,  I  shall 
never  regret  the  toil.  I  do  hope  God's  people  in  America  will  see 
to  it  that  I  have  not  run  in  vain,  neither  labored  in  vain." — 
A.  C.  Good,  1892. 

91 


KAMERUN 


£BOLOl^O£ 


rRINCH 


CONQO 


JOUKNEYS,  OF 


A.C.GOOD. 


jA 


92 


Eev.  a.  C.  Good 


93 


Adolphus   C.  Good 

"  I  know  that  treastire  must  he  expended  and  lives  sacrificed  if 
this  region  is  to  be  evangelized.  But  with  the  difficulties  and  per- 
plexities ill  full  view,  I  urge  that  we  take  up  this  work." 

In  a  log  house,  on  a  Western  Pennsylvania 
farm,  a  curly-headed  boy  was  born  and  lived 
until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  His  father, 
Abram  Good,  was  a  pioneer  of  German  descent, 
and  his  mother  a  schoolmistress  named  Hannah 
Irwin.  Abram  Good  was  a  Lutheran,  as  were 
his  fathers  before  him,  while  "the  Irwins  for 
generations  had  represented  undiluted  Presby- 
terianism  as  well  as  intelligence  above  the 
average." 

In  a  godly  country  home  Adolphus  Good  Early  Decision 
grew  up,  and  he  who  was  always  "a  good  bit 
like  his  mother,"  became  a  sturdy  Presbyterian. 

Author's  Note. — Very  little  material  concerning  the 
life  of  Dr.  Good  is  available.  Aside  from  the  excellent  bio- 
graphy, entitled  "A  Life  for  Africa,"  and  the  articles  by  Dr. 
Good,  which  were  published  in  the  Church  at  Home  and 
Aboard,  almost  nothing  is  In  print.  The  above  chapter, 
therefore,  is  but  little  more  than  a  condensation  of  Miss 
Parsons' s  boolc. 

95 


96  The  Price  of  Africa 

Moreover,  Adolphus  inherited  from  the  little 
schoolmistress  her  scholarly  tastes.  From  the 
day  when  in  a  grassy  apple-orchard  he  stretched 
himself  upon  the  ground  and  determined  to 
have  an  education,  and  to  "find  a  way  to  make 
one,"  Adolphus  Good  "took  straight  aim  for  an 
education,  and  pursued  it  with  all  his  might." 
His  biographer  gives  this  brief  outline  of  his 
early  struggle  for  an  education:  "Three  years 
he  studied  at  Glade  Run  Academy,  walking  to 
and  from  home  two  miles,  ^always  in  classroom 
soon  after  seven  o'clock  for  first  recitation,' 
filling  vacations  and  odd  hours  with  teaching 
school  or  helping  his  father  in  barn  and  hay- 
field  ;  three  j^ears  at  Washington  and  Jefferson 
College,  Washington,  Pa. ;  three  years  more  at 
Western  Thelogical  Seminary,  Allegheny,  Pa., 
where  he  threw  himself  ardently  into  Soho  Mis- 
sion, and  for  most  of  the  last  year  preached  at 
Freeport." 
His  "Other  Though  Good  was  reared  in  a  Christian 
lome,  "he  delayed  becoming  a  Christian  be- 
cause he  thought  it  would  bind  him  to  the  min- 
istry, while  he  then  had  'other  plans.'  Those 
plans  were  for  the  profession  of  law  and  in  the 
direction  of  a  worldly  ambition.  .  .  .  He  also 
passed  through  a  period  of  questioning  the  re- 
ceived doctrines,  and  came  out,  where  he  stood 
immovable  all  his  life,  upon  the  solid  rock  of 


Plans " 


Adolphus  C.  Good  97 

conviction.  He  made  a  'manly  confession,'  and 
united  with  Glade  Run  Church,  June  6,  1876, 
being  then  in  his  twentieth  year." 

In  college  he  was  an  all-round  college  man.  An  Ali-fund 
The  first  Sunday  he  became  identified  with  the  '^*'"^9^  ^^^ 
Society  of  Religious  Inquiry.  He  was  fond  of 
all  forms  of  field  and  track  athletics.  Although 
associated  with  college-trained  men,  "Good  was 
a  dominating  force  among  them.  He  gave  the 
impression  that,  other  things  being  equal,  it 
was  better  not  to  get  into  an  intellectual  con- 
test with  him." 

At  Washington  College  "he  was  one  of  six 
men  of  the  classes  of  '78  and  '79  who  banded 
together,  and  lived  at  the  lowest  terms  of  ex- 
pense, cooking  for  themselves  by  turn,  as  no 
other  men  in  college  did.  If  this  drew  down  an 
occasional  sharp  grind  on  'Poverty  Row,'  he 
was  thoroughly  insensitive  on  the  subject.  He 
belonged  to  the  Grand  Order  of  Log  Cabin  Men 
of  America,  where  Lincoln  belonged,  and  Grant 
and  Garfield." 

His  call  to  become  a  foreign  missionary  was  An  unreserved 
the  call  which  has  led  almost  every  great  mis-  Surrender 
sionary  into  the  field.  It  was  not  an  audible 
voice  speaking  to  him,  nor  yet  a  vision  of  the 
night.  His  own  reasons  for  going  are  "just 
about  those  that  would  suggest  themselves  to 
any  one.     The  gospel  is  here  within  reach  of 


98  The  Price  of  Africa 

all,  and  many  of  its  temporal  benefits,  at  least, 

are  enjoyed  by  all.    The  heathen  have  neither." 

He  thought  it  a  duty  to  inquire,  not,   "Why 

should  I  go?  but,  Why  should  I  not  go?     To 

the  latter  question  I  can  give  no  answer,  and  I 

therefore   consider   it  my   duty   to   go   if   the 

Church  will  send  me." 

"When  this  loyal,  exuberantly  active  young 

student  made  an  unreserved  surrender  in  favor 

of  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  it  was  as  good 

as  settled  that  it  would  carry  him  further.     It 

would  take  him  as  far  as  the  commission  read." 

Prepared  for         Having  given  up  every  personal  ambition, 
Roughing  It  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  q^^^  ^^  ^^-^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^-^e 

most  unpopular  mission  under  the  control  of  his 
Board.  In  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Board  of  Foreign  Missions  he  urges 
that  he  be  sent  to  Africa,  and  says:  "I  am  un- 
usually strong  and  healthy,  and  think  I  could 
stand  the  climate.  In  my  early  days  I  learned 
what  hard  work  and  roughing  it  meant." 
His  Eyes  "Whence  came  this  young  man's  first  im- 
Followed  His  pii]s(3  which  had  resulted  in  dedication  on  the 
foreign  missionary  altar?  As  Robert  Moffat's 
came,  like  Mackay's  of  Uganda — from  his 
mother.  She  pored  over  the  pages  of  the  mis- 
sionary magazine,  and  searched  out  every  mis- 
sionary paragraph  in  the  Banner,  and  the  boy's 
eyes  followed  his  mother's.     For  the  rest,  the 


Adolphus  C.  Good  99 

"whole  gospel  was  declared  in  Glade  Run 
Church;  the  last  command  of  Jesus  was 
preached,  and  Paul  was  preached." 

September  28,  1882,  Good  sailed  alone  for  Gaboon,  West 
his  mission  station  at  Gaboon,  West  Africa.  ^^"^^ 
"In  the  old  home,  that  September  day,  his 
father  was  walking  nervously  from  house  to 
yard,  from  yard  to  house,  no  one  venturing  to 
speak  to  him.  His  mother  sat  silent  and  tearless 
in  her  chair." 

Gaboon,  West  Coast  Africa,  is  the  name  of 
the  district  now  included  in  the  French  Congo. 
The  Presbyterian  Mission  Baraka  lies  back 
from  the  beach  about  two  miles,  and  is  about 
fifteen  miles  south  of  the  equator.  The  name 
Baraka  itself  is  a  monument  to  the  slave-trade, 
being  derived  from  the  slave  barracoon  which 
once  stood  on  its  site.  The  first  missionaries 
saw  the  ground  covered  with  the  bones  of  the 
slaves  who  had  died  there. 

The  climate  was  most  unhealthy.     Of  it  Mr. 
.Good  wrote:    "A   subtle   poison   fills   the   air. 
Sometimes  for  a  year  or  more  it  does  no  serious 
mischief,  but  gradually  it  pulls  down  the  strong- 
est men." 

"Thus  the  battle  was  joined  at  once.  For 
twelve  years  to  come  Mr.  Good  should  have  his 
full  share  of  the  African  missionary's  lot — of 
open  boats  under  glaring  sun  and  tropical  down- 


loo  The  Price  of  Africa 

pours,  of  stemming  the  ocean  tide  at  river 
mouths,  and  contending  with  frantic  surf ;  con- 
tending also  with  a  far  more  formidable  enemy, 
one  demanding  courage  equal  to  any  foe  on  any 
field — the  burning  fever  and  the  languor  of  re- 
action after  fever.  Could  this  enemy  be  con- 
quered on  the  west  coast,  the  white  man's  life 
would  be  stripped  of  half  its  perils." 
Tough  Place  fuf  a  Ten  missionaries  were  compelled  to  leave 
Boy  for  home  the  first  year,  and  soon  Good  was  the 
only  man  left  in  his  station.  He  says,  in  writ- 
ing to  his  mother,  "The  field  is  a  tough  one  for 
a  mere  boy  to  hold." 
Diplomatic  In  addition  to  the  regular  work  of  the  mis- 
Relations  sion.  Good  was  compelled  to  deal  with  diplo- 
matic problems  of  the  most  delicate  order.  Ga- 
boon was  under  French  control.  The  Jesuits 
inspired  the  French  authorities  to  embarrass  the 
Protestant  missions  in  every  possible  way. 
"Mr.  Good  was  drawn  into  several  conferences 
with  the  French  commandant.  It  was  a  deli- 
cate position  for  a  man  so  young,  so  new  in  the 
mission,  unversed  in  social  etiquette,  only  be- 
ginning to  speak  in  French,  and  wholly  without 
experience  in  diplomacy.  One  burst  of  temper, 
one  social  blunder,  a  hasty  inference,  a  little 
slowness  in  comprehending  the  commandant's 
tactics,  might  jeopardize  the  future  of  the  mis- 
sion."   But  he  was  equal  to  the  occasion.    "His 


Adolphus  C.  Good  loi 

directness,  his  habit  of  taking  straight  aim,  the 
sagacity  which  had  been  cultivated  in  watching 
the  wily  ways  of  birds  and  rabbits  in  his  boy- 
hood, added  to  a  fund  of  good  nature  and  self- 
control,  carried  him  through." 

On  June  21st,  in  an  American  man-of-war  His  Marriage 
anchored  oif  Gaboon,  Mr.  Good  was  married  to 
Miss  Lydia  B.  Walker,  who  had  been  for  sev- 
eral years  a  missionary  to  West  Africa. 

Mr.  Good  was  tireless  in  his  efforts  to  get 
his  bearings,  and  to  plan  his  life-work  in  a 
statesmanlike  manner.  He  traveled  by  foot 
and  by  boat,  exploring  the  country  and  learn- 
ing what  he  could  of  the  life  of  the  people.  He 
studied  the  native  language  at  every  available 
opportunity,  and  wherever  he  went  he  carried 
his  note-book  in  hand.  He  soon  displayed  rare 
gifts  for  evangelizing  and  organizing.  He  was 
a  man  of  fine  linguistic  abilities,  and  he  was 
able  to  preach  his  first  sermon  in  the  native  lan- 
guage within  ten  months  after  reaching  Africa. 

Before  long,  because  of  the  political  com-  Mission  should  be 
plications,  Mr.  Good  became  convinced  that  the  Transferred 
Presbyterian  Board  would  do  well  to  turn  its 
mission  at  Baraka  over  to  the  French  Protest- 
ant missionaries.  His  own  conviction  was  that 
a  more  permanent  work  could  be  established  in 
the  interior. 

Two  years  after  reaching  Baraka,  at  twenty-  Kangwe 
7 


I02  The  Price  of  Africa 

eight  years  of  age,  Mr.  Good  was  transferred 
to  Kangwe,  to  the  south  and  east  of  his  former 
station.  With  characteristic  energy  he  visited 
all  the  towns  in  that  region,  and  made  exact 
and  concise  reports  concerning  the  number  of 
people,  location  of  the  towns,  and  the  con 
dition  of  the  work. 

After  a  few  months  of  energetic  labor,  both 
Hr.  Good  and  his  associate,  Mr.  Robinson,  were 
stricken  with  the  fever,  and  in  order  that  their 
li\es  might  be  saved,  they  were  ordered  out  to 
sea.  After  a  brief  sea  voyage,  Mr.  Good  re- 
turned to  his  mission  at  Kangwe.  Within  a 
month  he  personally  saw  nearly  all  his  people, 
took  reports  of  Bible-readers,  got  together  an 
inquiry-class  of  seventeen,  and  busied  himself 
in  mastering  the  language. 
Mrs.  Good  In  1886  ill  health  compelled  Mrs.  Good  to 
Returns  to  return  to  America.  It  would  not  have  been 
deemed  improper  had  Mr.  Good  returned  with 
her,  but  they  determined  to  sacrifice  the  home 
life  for  the  sake  of  the  work.  Good,  therefore, 
put  his  wife  and  boy  aboard  a  ship  bound  for 
America,  and  went  back  to  his  lonely  home 
seventy-five  miles  from  the  nearest  missionary. 
A  Busy  Season  In  September  of  this  year,  Mr.  Good  wrote : 
"It  was  a  busy  season,  and  we  expected  to  add 
only  eight  or  ten  to  the  roll  of  inquirers.  After 
a  great  deal  of  sifting  we  added  forty-three, 


Adolphus  C.  Good  103 

making  the  whole  number  about  ninety.  Of 
course,  these  figures  must  not  be  taken  for  their 
full  face  value.  ISTot  all  of  these  ninety  persons 
will  finally  become  baptized  members  of  the 
Ogowe  Church,  but  a  large  part  of  them  will. 
There  is  enough  to  convince  us  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  at  work  mightily  here.  .  .  .  l^enge 
is  a  town  I  had  given  up.  The  last  time  I 
passed,  the  people  were  so  drunk  that  I  passed 
without  preaching;  now  six  or  eight  men  at 
once  gathered  their  fetiches  and  threw  them 
into  the  Ogowe.  Women  are  beginning  to 
come." 

From  now  until  the  close  of  his  ministry  "We  Need  Help" 
Mr.  Good  constantly  pleaded  with  the  Board  in 
New  York  to  send  more  workers.  In  a  letter 
to  the  secretary  he  said:  "What  we  need  now 
is  help.  Already  I  have  had  the  most  danger- 
ous form  of  fever  twice.  The  doctor  says  I 
ought  to  go  home  now — not  that  I  have  any 
notion  of  acting  on  this  advice ;  but  should  I 
break  down  without  another  man  here,  it  would 
be  disastrous.  More  now  depends  on  constant, 
careful  supervision  than  anything  else  except 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  A  little  later 
he  reminds  the  secretary  that  his  own  health 
may  give  out  at  any  time,  and  urges  that  a  man 
be  sent  who  can  be  in  training  for  such  an 
emergency.    He  says  that  it  would  be  disastrous 


I04  The  Price  of  Africa 

to  send  an  untrained  man  into  that  field  alone. 
With  great  emphasis  he  declares  that  it  "would 
be  almost  certain  death." 

In  1887  he  again  writes:  "I  beg  to  remind 
the  Board  of  the  necessity  of  at  once  sending  us 
assistance.  We  must  acknowledge  that  God 
has  been  far  more  faithful  in  blessing  the  gos- 
pel than  we  have  been  in  preaching  it.  The 
work  done  by  myself  has  been  little  enough — 
nothing  compared  with  what  ought  to  be  done. 
The  main  part  was  done  by  five  Bible-readers. 
My  field  is  so  extensive  all  I  could  attempt  was 
to  inspect  their  work  occasionally;  but  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  these  men  are  utterly  unfit  for 
such  work.  They  are  only  useful  because  the 
mass  of  the  people  are  so  ignorant.  When  their 
modicum  of  knowledge  becomes  the  property 
of  the  many,  their  usefulness  will  be  passed 
unless  they  can  be  educated  so  as  to  keep  in 
advance  of  the  people." 
The  Missionary  Miss  Ellen  C.  Parsons,  Mr.  Good's  biog- 
Pays  the  Bill  rapher,  has  written  a  page  which  has  more  be- 
tween the  lines  than  appears  at  first  reading. 
It  is  so  significant  of  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
field,  contrasted  with  the  lethargy  of  the  Church 
at  home,  that  it  is  reprinted  entire.  The  page 
reads  as  follows:  "Still  the  tide  was  rising  on 
the  Ogowe.  There  were  more  troubled  con- 
sciences than  ever  in  1887.     At  March  com- 


Adolphus  C.  Good  105 

munion  extra  benches  filled  every  available 
space  on  Sunday,  Scarcely  any  were  mere  spec- 
tators; almost  all  were  members  or  inquirers. 
Only  six  were  baptized,  for  inquirers  were 
obliged  to  complete  a  year  in  the  class  before 
baptism.  There  were  now  two  hundred  and 
forty-nine  inquirers  from  five  different  tribes, 
speaking  languages  as  different  as  German  and 
English.  Spiritual  earnestness  was  the  token 
on  every  hand.  Church  members  in  general 
held  daily  prayer  and  Sabbath  services  wher- 
ever they  were,  and  inquirers  went  long  dis- 
tances to  be  present. 

"Two  problems  now  confront  the  mis- 
sionary: 

"1.  *How  are  all  these  inquirers  to  be  in- 
structed?' Answered,  by  increasing  the  effi- 
ciency of  Bible-readers.  They  and  other  picked 
young  men,  a  normal  class  of  twelve,  are 
brought  to  Kangwe  for  a  month  of  hard  study, 
and  again  sent  forth. 

"2.  Books  are  required.  ^I  could  have  sold 
a  hundred  primers  communion-week.  At  the 
rate  they  are  called  for,  a  year  will  exhaust  all 
the  Mpongwe  books  we  have  in  print,  except 
hymn  books.'  This  problem  is  solved  by  two 
Mpongwe  manuscripts  which  spring  up  like 
Jonah's  gourd,  and  are  promptly  mailed  to 
America  to  be  printed  while  Mrs.  Good  is  there 


io6  The  Price  of  Africa 

to  read  proofs.  As  for  money  to  pay  the 
printer,  his  butterfly  net  has  provided  for  'the 
tract/  and  he  'would  rather  foot  the  bill'  for 
five  hundred  primers  also  'than  not  to  have 
them  right  away.'  The  Church  in  America  was 
poor,  and  the  missionary  paid  for  the  primers !" 
The  Great  The  year  1888  has  been  called  the  year  of 
Awakening  ^^^  great  awakening.  In  that  year  ninety-four 
members  were  received  into  the  Church,  and 
about  four  hundred  were  preparing  for  bap- 
tism. Even  Good  was  amazed  that  these  Chris- 
tian men  were  f  ble  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  their 
terribly  wicked  surroundings ;  but  he  says :  "A 
change  has  taken  place  in  hearts,  and  is  taking 
place  in  communities,  which  is  nothing  less  than 
a  miracle.  Where  this  work  has  been  firmly 
rooted  the  people  are  slowly  and  painfully 
struggling  up  to  a  better  life.  The  field  is  dead 
ripe." 
Journey  to  At  this  period  of  great  spiritual  prosperity 

America  -^^  Good  for  the  third  time  was  prostrated  with 
fever.  He  was  carried  on  a  cot  to  a  steam 
launch,  and  was  hurried  down  the  river,  and  as 
soon  as  possible  put  on  board  a  ship  bound  for 
America.  It  was  thought  that  he  would  not 
survive ;  but  the  fresh  sea  air  invigorated  him, 
and  on  September  20th  he  landed  in  New  York 
City.  Upon  reaching  the  Mission  Rooms  he 
said  to  the  secretary,   "Kow  the  voyage  has 


Adolphus  C.  Good  107 

straightened  me  out,  give  me  something  to  do 
or  I  shall  die,"  and  nine  days  later  he  gave  a 
missionary  address  in  Pittsburg. 

During  his  brief  furlough  he  traveled  from 
"New  York  to  Nebraska,  speaking  almost  con- 
stantly. A  young  man  who  heard  him  speak 
to  the  students  of  Princeton  Seminary  declared 
that  it  was  the  most  powerful  missionary  appeal 
he  ever  heard.  That  these  words  came  from 
the  heart  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  this  young 
man  followed  Mr.  Good  as  a  missionary  to  Af- 
rica. A  pastor  who  heard  Mr.  Good  speak,  said 
that  the  older  people  who  heard  him  were  re- 
minded of  the  eloquent  Duff. 

Mr.  Good  delivered  an  address  at  a  mass 
meeting  held  in  connection  with  the  General 
Assembly.  Six  years  later  the  moderator  of 
that  year  said:  "The  impression  of  that  young 
man,  his  face  bronzed  by  the  tropical  sun,  his 
burning  words  in  behalf  of  Africa,  the  audience 
carried  away  by  his  enthusiasm,  will  never  be 
effaced  from  memory."  After  his  death,  the 
Eev.  John  Gillespie,  D.  D.,  wrote:  "It  is  not 
invidious  to  say  that  few  missionaries  from  any 
country  have  so  thrilled  the  Church  and  so 
aroused  its  missionary  enthusiasm."  ^ 

I^otwithstanding  his  remarkable  platform 
ability  and  his  great  success  in  representing  the 

1  The  Church  at  Some  and  Abroad,  February,  1895.  Page  118. 


io8  The  Price  of  Africa 

work  in  the  home  land,  Mr.  Good,  with  the 
characteristic  modesty  of  a  truly  consecrated 
man,  shrank  from  public  praise.  After  being- 
invited  to  speak  on  a  certain  Sabbath,  he  wrote 
to  his  wife :  "Hate  to  do  it,  for  fear  it 's  a 
stylish  place.  Am  getting  awfully  tired  of  this 
public  speaking.  Long  to  go  home  to  wife  and 
baby." 

During  his  stay  in  America,  Mr.  Good  liter- 
ally absorbed  information  which  would  be  of 
service  to  him  upon  his  return  to  Africa.  He 
also  aided  the  Board  in  securing  three  men  to 
return  with  him  to  his  mission.  While  in 
America,  Washington  and  Jefferson  College 
conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Ph.  D. 
Return  to  Africa  After  an  eleven  months'  furlough,  Mr. 
Good  set  sail  for  his  mission.  Before  he  had 
gone  alone.  This  time  he  was  accompanied  by 
three  young  missionaries  and  their  wives.  He 
was  overjoyed  by  this  re-enforcement;  but  he 
says:  "When  we  are  all  located,  our  stations 
will  be  only  half  manned.  At  least  one  will 
have  to  be  manned  with  women  alone." 

Mr.  Good's  return  to  Africa  was  an  ovation. 
Village  after  village  turned  out  en  masse  to 
welcome  him.  Those  on  the  steamer  could  hear 
a  chorus  of  voices  on  the  shore  shouting, 
"Thanks  be  to  God !    Thanks  be  to  God !" 

Upon  examining  into  the  condition  of  the 


Adolphus  C.  Good  109 

mission,  Mr.  Good  wrote  that  he  believed  they 
were  on  the  eve  of  better  days  than  ever  before. 
Nevertheless  he  was  not  blinded  by  the  real 
conditions,  for  he  added:  "The  state  of  the 
work  is  a  good  deal  mixed ;  some  sad  falls ;  in- 
quirers grow  careless.  ISTo  denying  the  fact 
that  in  general  Christians  have  decidedly  cooled 
off,  especially  in  out-of-the-way  places.  At 
Nganda :  Talked  to  a  small  audience,  who  mani- 
fested small  interest.  At  Olamba:  A  large  com- 
pany of  Christians  welcomed  us.  The  gospel 
has  in  fact  prevailed;  the  town  seems  com- 
pletely transformed." 

In  1892,  Dr.  Good  visited  the  Presbyterian  a  Tour  of 
Mission  in  Liberia  on  a  tour  of  inspection  for  Inspection 
his  Board.  He  submitted  a  masterly  report 
covering  the  political,  commercial,  and  agricul- 
'  tural  conditions  of  Liberia,  and  in  a  temperate 
and  impartial  way  reported  the  conditions  of 
the  various  stations  of  the  mission.  He  shows 
his  Christian  liberality  by  recommending  that 
the  Board  withdraw  from  a  hamlet  of  three 
hundred  people,  where  he  discovered  three 
Churches  representing  as  many  denominations. 
He  believed  this  to  be  a  waste  of  energy,  and 
he  thought  that  the  Presbyterians  ought  to 
withdraw  since  they  were  the  weakest  of  all. 

The  visit  to  Liberia  was  satisfactory,  both 
to  the  missionaries,  who  appreciated  his  fair- 


no  The  Price  of  Africa 

ness  and  directness,  and  to  the  Board,  which 
appreciated  his  evident  mastery  of  the  situation 
and  his  frankness  in  making  his  report. 

^Notwithstanding  the  success  of  the  mission 
at  Kangwe,  it  became  increasingly  clear  as  the 
days  went  by,  that  this  station  also  ought  to  be 
given  over  to  the  French  Protestants.  In  1890 
an  article  from  Dr.  Good  was  published  in  The 
Church  at  Home  and  Abroad,^  clearly  setting 
forth  the  difficulties  of  the  present  station,  and 
urging  particularly  that  the  Board  change  its 
policy  of  establishing  missions  in  an  irregular 
line  along  the  coast.  Dr.  Good  contended  that 
although  there  were  great  difficulties  in  the  way, 
the  Church  should  endeavor  to  reach  the  dense 
population  of  the  interior.  He  thought  the  diffi- 
culties were  not  insuperable,  and  declared  that 
the  Church  should  not  turn  back  from  such  a 
field  because  of  mere  difficulties  in  the  way. 
A  Trip  of  In  1892  the  mission  requested  Dr.  Good  to 
select  an  associate,  and  to  make  a  trip  of  ex- 
ploration into  the  country  farther  back  from 
the  coast,  with  a  view  to  the  discovery  of  a  suit- 
able mission  station  which  would  be  free  from 
French  interference. 

While  awaiting  the  approval  of  the  Board 
to  this  project.  Dr.  Good  finished  a  translation 
of  the  New  Testament,  which  he  had  begun  two 

1  June,  1890.    Page  649. 


Adolphus  C.  Good  iii 

years  before.  Upon  receiving  commission  from 
the  Board,  quietly,  and  with  a  full  sense  of  the 
responsibility  which  rested  upon  him,  and  know- 
ing full  well  the  hardships  to  be  met.  Dr.  Good 
set  out  on  the  4th  of  July  upon  his  long 
journey. 

In  authorizing  the  expedition,  the  Board 
had  urged  Dr.  Good  to  take  all  possible  precau- 
tion against  exposure  of  health  or  life.  The 
answer  was,  ^'The  emergency  against  which  I 
shall  most  carefully  provide  is  failure.'' 

The  Board  had  intended  that  another  mis- 
sionary should  accompany  Good,  but  this  was 
impracticable,  so  he  went  with  no  other  compan- 
ions than  the  native  carriers. 

Good  never  complained  of  any  physical 
hardship  which  he  had  to  undergo,  but  his  let- 
ters plainly  indicate  that  he  suffered  greatly. 
The  paths  over  which  he  traveled  were  narrow 
and  often  obstructed.  The  forest  at  times  was 
so  dense  that  midday  seemed  like  twilight. 
The  ground  never  dried,  and  the  path  was  wet 
and  slippery,  or  else  through  mud  which  was 
often  a  foot  deep.  His  clothing  was  drenched 
by  the  rain  and  the  wet  from  the  dripping 
foliage.  Concerning  the  difficulties  of  the  way, 
he  said:  "It  is  difficult  to  speculate  about  fields 
one  has  never  seen.  A  road  is  hard  or  easy 
according  to  a  man's  idea  of  what  a  hard  road 


112  The  Price  of  Africa 

is.     The  German  gave  a  rather  dark  picture  of 
the  road  for  the  first  seven  days;  hut,  as  I 
looked  at  him,  I  decided  in  my  mind  that  he  was 
not  a  man  of  great  physical  endurance,  and  his 
picture  may  be  too  dark." 
teaching  to  the         Throughout    the    journey    Dr.     Good    at- 
''^"P'^  tempted  to  preach  to  the  people.    He  was  handi- 
capped by  the  various  dialects  of  the  different 
tribes,  but  he  found  that  most  of  them  had 
many  words  in  common,  and  he  was  usually 
able  to  find  interpreters.    The  difficulties  under 
which  he  labored  are  well  set  forth  in  the  fol- 
lowing statement:  "A  scene  here  was  repeated 
daily  for  the  next  two  weeks.    I  wished  to  im- 
press upon  them  the  truth  that  God  is  not  far 
from  any  of  us,  and  can  hear  us  when  we  pray. 
So  I  explained  the  meaning  of  prayer,  and  re- 
quested them  all  to  keep  quiet  while  I  rose  and 
began.     At  first  there  was  only  a  little  noise, 
but  three  or  four  shouted  out,   'Keep  quiet.' 
To  make  matters  worse,  the  Mabeya  shouted, 
^Shut  your  eyes !'     So  unusual  a  performance 
convulsed  some  with  laughter.     Some  mothers 
thought  closing  the  eyes  was  an  important  mat- 
ter, and  so  held  their  hands  over  their  children's 
eyes.      Of   course,    the   youngsters    screamed. 
Some  women  became  frightened,  and  bolted  for 
the    door,    laughing   and   screaming;    and   the 
dozen  or  more  dogs  that  had  been  asleep  around 


Adolphus  C.  Good  113 

the  fires,  roused  up  by  the  unusual  excitement, 
began  to  bark.  I  need  hardly  add  that  by  this 
time  the  prayer  was  effectually  interrupted." 

After  returning  to  his  mission  and  report-  A  Second  Journey 
ing.  Dr.  Good  set  out  on  a  second  journey  of  °*  Exploration 
exploration.  Upon  each  of  these  journeys 
he  encountered  the  usual  difficulties  of  an 
African  traveler.  The  tropical  sun  scorched 
them  by  day.  At  night  the  air  was  frequently 
chilly.  Day  after  day  the  rain  would  pour  in 
torrents.  There  were  no  roads.  The  crooked 
African  paths  were  worn  trough-shaped  by  the 
water.  Mosquitoes  and  flies  were  a  constant 
annoyance.  The  native  chiefs  frequently  re- 
fused food  unless  at  exorbitant  prices,  and  pres- 
ents were  constantly  demanded. 

"As  Dr.  Good  proceeded  from  town  to 
town,  a  crowd  of  several  hundred  followed  at 
his  heels,  adding  to  his  natural  fatigue  and  anxi- 
ety the  loud  jangle  of  their  untamed  voices. 
He  laid  a  mental  tax  upon  himself  by  continu- 
ally watching  for  new  Bulu  words  and  idioms, 
which  were  straightway  transferred  to  the  little 
note-book  in  his  side-pocket." 

Dr.  Good's  method  of  preaching  was  vividly  His  Metliod  of 
pictured  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Montclair  P''"<^'''"fl 
(N.  J.)  Church  which  was  supporting  him.    "The 
fundamental  truths  which  they  hold  seem  like 
fragments  of  a  broken  chain,  which  they  are  too 


114  The  Price  of  Africa 

thoughtless  to  connect;  but  when  the  mission- 
ary comes  along  and  connects  these  severed 
fragments,  they  can  not  help  seeing  how  they 
fit  together.  I  ask  who  made  them  and  all 
things,  and  they  reply  at  once,  'N'zam.'  'Who 
gives  you  all  the  blessings  you  enjoy?'  'He 
does.'  'Do  you  love  and  worship  him  and 
thank  him  for  his  goodness  V  'No.'  'Why 
not?'  At  once  they  see  their  conduct  must  be 
displeasing  to  God.  'Are  lying,  stealing,  and 
killing  right  or  wrong?'  'Wrong,  of  course.' 
'How  do  you  know?'  They  can  not  tell;  they 
just  know  it.  To  the  suggestion  that  these 
things  are  written  in  their  hearts,  like  the  words 
in  a  white  man's  book,  they  assent  at  once  as  a 
satisfactory  explanation.  'Who  wrote  these 
things  in  your  heart  ?'  'We  do  n't  know,'  they 
say.  'Who  made  you?'  'ISTzam,'  or  'E'jambe.' 
Both  words  are  used.  Then,  'Did  he  not  write 
these  laws  in  your  hearts  ?'  Here  was  a  break 
in  their  knowledge,  but  the  moment  the  missing 
link  is  supplied  the  chain  is  made  complete  in 
their  minds.  'Yes,'  in  a  chorus;  'yes,  he  gave 
us  these  laws  in  our  hearts.'  Then  I  am  ready 
to  press  home  the  great  truth  from  which  there 
is  now  no  escape.  'If  God  made  this  law.  He 
must  be  angry  when  it  is  broken.  He  must  see 
when  it  is  broken,  for  He  made  the  eyes ;  as  He 
made  the  ear,  He  must  Himself  hear  what  is 


Adolphus  C.  Good  115 

spoken  contrary  to  this  law.'  'Yes,  that  must 
be  so.'  'Then,  when  death  calls  you  into  the 
presence  of  this  Being  whose  laws  you  have 
broken,  how  will  He  receive  you?'  They  at- 
tempt no  evasion ;  they  admit  that  God  will  be 
angry ;  and  when  I  tell  them  of  heaven  and  hell 
the  excitement  sometimes  becomes  intense. 
Then  I  lead  them  on  to  the  blessed  truth  that 
God  is  a  God  of  mercy;  and  often,  when  the 
strange  new  story  is  finished,  trade  and  greed, 
all  else,  seem  forgotten.  But  next  morning,  or 
an  hour  afterwards,  when  they  have  talked  to- 
gether a  little  and  repeated  to  one  another  what 
they  have  heard  of  me,  doubts  begin  to  arise. 
They  call  me  and  want  to  talk  a  little  more.  I 
sit  down,  prepared  to  be  questioned.  The  ob- 
ject of  my  visit  has  been  fully  explained.  But 
no  matter;  the  first  question  generally  was, 
'Where  are  you  going?'  'I  do  not  know  ex- 
actly. I  told  you  I  was  going  as  far  as  I  could, 
and  to  see  as  many  people  as  I  could.'  'But 
who  are  you  going  to  see  ?'  'I  do  n't  know.* 
An  astounding  statement  to  them,  as  they  never 
dare  go  anywhere  unless  where  they  have  a 
friend  who  can  protect  them.  'What  are  you 
going  for  ?'  By  this  time  I  would  be  losing  pa- 
tience, and  reply  something  like  this:  'I  have 
told  you  already;  why  do  you  keep  on  asking 
the  same  question?'     'Yes,  we  know  [coolly], 


ii6  The  Price  of  Africa 

but  tell  "US  now  what  you  are  really  seeking.' 
Several  times  I  thought  they  did  believe  me, 
but  was  afterwards  convinced  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  perhaps  two  towns,  the  people  took 
little  stock  in  my  explanations,  and  by  most  I 
was  set  down  as  an  impostor.  Had  I  come  to 
look  for  trade,  had  I  killed  and  plundered,  they 
would  have  fully  appreciated  my  motives ;  but 
that  white  men  want  to  teach  them  about  God 
and  heaven  without  money  or  price,  that  was 
incomprehensible.  The  first  great  law  of  heath- 
endom is  selfishness,  and,  tried  by  this  their 
only  standard,  you  can  see  how  unbelievable 
must  have  seemed  my  statement." 
A  New  Misstv.  Finally  Dr.  Good's  recommendation  con- 
cerning the  location  of  the  new  mission  was 
adopted  by  the  mission  and  indorsed  by  the 
Board,  and  the  clearing  for  the  new  station  was 
begun  June  5th  on  the  brow  of  a  large  hill  over- 
looking a  thickly-populated  region.  The  station 
was  named  Efulen  (pronounced  A-full'-en). 
The  name  was  suggested  by  a  Bulu  woman,  and 
means  a  mingling,  her  idea  being  that  the  mis- 
sionaries had  come  to  settle  all  disputes  of  the 
savage  tribes,  and  to  bring  together  all  kinds 
of  people. 

Soon  Dr.  Good  was  re-enforced  by  three 
men,  who  had  arrived  to  take  up  this  work  in 
the  interior,  and  notwithstanding  the  arduous 


Adolphus  C.  Good  117 

labor  involved  in  founding  the  new  mission,  his 
mind,  like  Livingstone's,  was  constantly  run- 
ning out  to  the  "regions  beyond."  He  wrote 
to  the  Board:  "You  can  not  mov^  too  fast  for 
me.  I  see  no  obstacle  to  our  establishing  three 
or  four  stations  as  faet  as  men  can  be  gotten 
together." 

During  the  serious  illness  of  Mr.  Milligan, 
one  of  the  helpers,  Dr.  Good  spent  several 
weeks  in  nursing  the  patient.  During  this  time 
he  was  translating  the  Scriptures  into  the  Bulu 
language,  and  was  compiling  a  dictionary.  "By 
October  two  hymns  would  ^go,'  and  the  first 
consecutive  passage  from  the  Word  of  God  was 
read  to  the  Sunday  audience  (October  1st).  It 
was  a  portion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
What  conception  did  those  bloody  men  receive 
from  the  novel  proclamation,  'Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit,'  'Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  V  " 

Mrs.  Good  had  returned  with  Dr.  Good  Final  Separation 
after  his  furlough  in  America,  but  in  1894  her  *™"'  "'^  ^''^ 
illness  brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  al- 
ternative of  a  separation,  or  another  return  to 
America.  Dr.  Good  was  much  perplexed  to 
know  what  to  do,  and  after  prayer  he  deter- 
mined to  consult  his  wife.  She  advised  him  to 
remain,  giving  as  her  reason  that  he  was  help- 
ing the  work  of  the  missions  more  than  any  one 

else.    For  the  last  time  he  bade  his  wife  good- 
8 


Ii8  The  Price  of  Africa 

bye.  Standing  on  the  shore  he  watched  the 
steamer  disappear,  and  then  plunged  into  the 
forest. 
A  Second  Station  In  1894,  having  established  a  mission  at 
Efnlen,  Dr.  Good  started  out  with  two  carriers 
to  find  a  site  for  a  second  station  which  he  pro- 
posed to  establish.  On  this  journey  he  tramped 
through  the  wilderness  four  hundred  miles, 
for  most  of  the  time  in  a  region  where  a  white 
man  had  never  before  been.  Everywhere  he 
encountered  the  native  tribes,  and  the  convic- 
tion deepened  that  a  vast  population  was  look- 
ing to  his  mission  for  a  knowledge  of  the 
gospel. 

After  this  journey.  Dr.  Good  returned  to 
his  mission,  and  spent  some  little  time  in  trans- 
lation. By  the  end  of  March  he  had  trans- 
lated a  considerable  portion  of  the  Bulu  dic- 
tionary, and  had  begun  John's  Gospel. 

Finally  a  committee  appointed  by  the  mis- 
sion went  with  Dr.  Good  to  decide  upon  the 
site  for  the  second  station.  They  bought  land 
in  the  district  of  Ebolowo'e,  sixty-eight  miles 
southeast  of  Efulen.  They  were  hindered 
from  at  once  going  in  to  possess  the  land  by 
the  lack  of  the  expected  workers  from  America. 
The  mail  brought  word  that  only  one  man  had 
offered  himself  for  the  service;  and  Dr.  Good 
wrote :  "Our  mission  has  been  forty  years  seek- 


Adolphus  C.  Good  119 

ing  a  door  by  which  to  enter  the  interior  of 
Africa.  !Now,  when  this  one  has  opened  so 
widely,  is  it  thus  we  propose  to  enter  ?" 

Dr.  Good's  time  was  now  constantly  taken  An  nctive  Life 
up  in  mingling  with  the  people,  in  preaching, 
and  in  translation.  "His  systematic  habit  was 
to  rise  at  six  o'clock,  get  to  his  desk  at  seven, 
translate  till  noon,  again  two  hours  in  the  after- 
noon, and,  after  that,  daily  go  into  the  near 
towns  and  preach.  In  June  four  hymns  were 
written.  By  the  end  of  July  the  Gospel  of 
John  was  translated,  and  seven  chapters  of 
Matthew.  September  19th  the  Gospels  by 
Matthew  and  Mark  entire  are  added  to  that 
of  John,  and  the  same  day  manuscript  of  the 
first  Bulu  book,  a  primer,  is  mailed  to  Amer- 
ica, to  be  printed.  One  month  later  the  dic- 
tionary has  passed  under  careful  revision,  and 
the  pen  is  laid  down  at  the  last  line  of  Luke's 
Gospel." 

In  the  summer  of  1894  the  good  news  Re-enforcements 
came  that  two  new  men  had  been  appointed 
for  the  new  station  at  Ebolowo'e.  Dr.  Good 
proposed  that  these  two  men  be  stationed 
at  Efulen  while  he  and  Mr.  Kerr  would  take 
upon  themselves  the  burden  of  opening  up  the 
new  station  at  Ebolowo'e.  Dr.  Good  now 
clearly  outlined  his  plans.  In  ISTovember  and 
December  he  proposed  to  erect  the  necessary 


I20  The  Price  of  Africa 

buildings  for  the  new  station,  and  to  spend 
whatever  time  he  might  in  itinerating  in  the 
district.  He  would  revise  his  Bulu  Gospels,  and 
early  in  1895  he  would  attend  the  mission  meet- 
ing, and  then  sail  for  America,  taking  his  Gos- 
pels home  with  him  to  be  printed.  Then  he 
proposed,  after  sLx  or  eight  months  in  America, 
to  return  again,  bringing  his  wife  with  him. 
But  these  plans  were  defeated.  The  new  mis- 
sionaries came  too  late  to  permit  of  building 
at  Ebolowo'e,  and  Mr.  Kerr  found  it  necessary 
to  remain  at  Efulen.  If  any  itinerating  were 
done  in  the  new  region,  Dr.  Good  must  make 
the  journey  alone,  and  with  his  base  of  supplies 
at  Efulen.  He  started  out  bravely  on  a  jour- 
ney of  a  month  or  six  weeks.  In  his  unselfish- 
ness he  wrote  just  before  starting  on  this  jour- 
ney: "I  shall  probably  be  away  when  the  new 
brethren  arrive,  and  I  am  glad  of  it;  for  I  am 
anxious  to  draw  out  of  the  position  of  adviser. 
By  the  time  I  am  back  they  \a^11  be  well  started 
in.  If  they  do  not  see  things  as  I  do,  I  shall 
give  them  large  liberty  to  do  what  they  like." 
The  last  Journey  On  the  morning  of  November  12th,  Dr. 
Good  started  on  his  last  journey.  When  half 
a  day  out,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  messenger  who 
told  him  that  the  new  men  were  coming  to  the 
station,  and  he  was  requested  to  hurry  back.  He 
returned  and  welcomed  the  three  young  men 


Adolphus  C.  Good  121 

fresh  from  America.  After  a  hearty  welcome 
and  a  conference  which  continued  well  into 
the  night,  Good  started  out  the  next  morning 
to  overtake  his  loads.  It  was  the  same  old 
story  of  inefficient  carriers  and  of  physical 
hardships  along  the  way.  On  ISTovember  30th 
he  wrote  in  his  diary:  "In  the  evening  I  felt 
fever  coming  on.  I  was  quite  chilly  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  then  went  into  a  profuse  per- 
spiration. Took  a  heavy  dose  of  quinine. 
jN^ext  morning  the  fever  was  broken."  On  De- 
cember 1st  he  writes:  "Feel  badly.  On 
through  Yeno'e  towns.  Course  same  as  yes- 
terday, nearly  west.  Distance  for  day,  eleven 
miles." 

But  the  end  was  near  at  hand.  Concern-  Nearing  the  End 
ing  the  last  hours.  Miss  Parsons  writes:  "Mon- 
day, at  noon,  he  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 
mission  house  in  Efulen,  and  watchful  eyes 
noted  that  his  face  was  haggard  and  ominously 
yellow.  He  acknowledged  to  having  suffered 
from  unsuitable  food,  from  sleeplessness,  a 
feverish  attack,  and  that  a  return  of  fever  had 
hurried  him  home.  But  he  dismissed  it  lightly. 
He  would  take  quinine,  and  be  'all  right  in  the 
morning.'  There  was  no  loss  of  spirit  and  en- 
thusiasm regarding  the  interior.  They  had 
never  seen  him  more  anxious  to  open  the  sec- 
ond station.    In  all  his  journey  of  two  hundred 


122  The  Price  of  Africa 

and  thirty  miles  he  had  found  no  place  to  com- 
pare with  their  chosen  site. 

"At  midnight  he  was  wakeful,  and,  calling 
to  Mr.  Ford,  who  had  come  up  from  the  coast 
in  hif  absence,  they  had  two  hours'  conference 
on  mission  affairs.  ISText  day,  worse.  His 
five  brethren  surrounded  him  with  every  pos- 
sible ministry  of  love  and  care.  Wednesday, 
hematuria  was  manifest,  and  remodies  were 
pushed  as  fast  as  he  could  bear  them.  Loyal 
hearts  and  true  wrestled  in  prayer  for  his  life ; 
but  the  patient's  temperature  rose  steadily. 
*I  felt,'  wrote  the  physician,  'that  the  noble 
man  was  to  be  called  to  his  reward.' 

"Delirium  came  on.  Attempts  at  prayer  in 
English,  'O  God,  help  in  this  supreme  hour!' 
distinctly  repeated  at  intervals.  In  conscious 
moments  he  charged  his  brethren  to  be  firm, 
not  to  be  afraid,  but  to  push  on.  Turning  to 
one  of  his  watchers :  'It  has  come  to  be  the 
fashion  to  regard  me  as  the  representative  of 
this  interior  work'  [with  an  expressive  ges- 
ture] ;  I  never  liked  it.'  ISTow  he  was  preach- 
ing in  Bulu:  'Listen  carefully,  and  we  will 
tell  you  about  Christ.'  Then  'praying  much' 
for  the  work  of  the  interior:  'May  good  men 
never  be  wanting  to  carry  it  forward !'  Again, 
he  is  on  the  road,  calling  to  his  carriers  in 


Adolphus  C.  Good  123 

Mpongwe,  and  battling  with  the  obstacles  of 
travel.     And  the  fever  did  not  yield. 

"Thursday,  near  noon,  in  a  few  moments  A  Messenger  at 
of  mental  clearness,  he  sent  his  last  messages.  ^^^  "*""" 
'In  self-forgetful  prayer'  he  commended  his 
bjethren  to  God,  and  asked  for  more  laborers 
to  the  interior,  and  for  himself  preparation  for 
death.  All  the  afternoon,  wild  delirium — the 
last  struggle  of  a  strong  vitality  and  abound- 
ing energy;  but  at  evening  a  hush  fell.  The 
little  sixteen  by  twenty-eight  dwelling  at  Efulen 
was  shaken  with  a  tread  more  stately  than 
cathedral  processional;  for  a  messenger  from 
the  King  of  kings  was  at  the  door.  As  peace- 
fully as  a  child  falls  asleep  in  his  mother's 
arms,  the  spirit  returned  to  God." 

On  an  Efulen  hill-top,  overlooking  the  many 
native  towns  to  the  south,  is  a  grave  encircled 
with  a  hedge  of  pineapple,  marked  by  the  low 
bronze  monument  sent  out  by  Montclair 
friends,  and  on  it  are  these  words,  "Faithful 
unto  death." 

Five  young  men  were  left  at  Efulen.  One  A  Sacred  Vow 
at  that  moment  was  blind  with  African  fever. 
Another  had  just  recovered  from  his  first  at- 
tack. But  Mr.  Kerr  wrote:  "Those  of  us  who 
stood  by  his  bedside  have  promised,  not  only 
Brother  Good,  but  Him  who  gave  us  life  and 


124  The  Price  of  Africa 

has  the  right  to  take  it,  that  while  strength  and 
life  last  we  will  be  faithful  to  our  trust.'' 
These  five  stalwart  men  cabled  to  America  the 
news  concerning  Good's  death,  and  added  this 
brief  message:  "Send  workers  quickly." 

Two  years  later  two  young  Bulu  men  were 
taken  by  Dr.  Johnson  into  the  little  room  where 
Dr.  Good  died,  and,  after  a  few  farewell  words 
of  prayer  and  counsel,  "with  emotion  not  to 
be  described,"  he  Avatched  these  two  dark  mes- 
sengers march  down  the  hillside  and  out  toward 
the  remote  towns.  They  were  the  first  wit- 
r esses  In  their  own  tribe  to  "catch  up  the  evan- 
gel which  had  reached  their  own  hearts,  and 
attempt  to  pass  it  on." 

Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  Where  was  Good  born,  and  in  what  year? 

2.  What  were  his  educational  advantages? 

3.  Why  did  Good  delay  in  becoming  a  Christian? 

4.  What  sort  of  a  man  was  Good  while  he  was  in 

in  college? 

5.  How  was  Good  called  to  the  mission  field? 

6.  What  sort  of  a  field  did  he  choose? 

7.  Where    was    he    sent?      What    of    the    country? 

Draw  a  rough  map  of  this  country. 

8.  What  of  the  climate? 

9.  Tell    something    of    Good's    diplomatic    relations 

with  the  French  authorities. 
10.  When  M^as  he  married,  and  to  whom? 


Adolphus  C.  Good  125 

11.  Name  the  various  mission  stations  occupied  by 

Good,  and  locate  ttiem  on  the  map. 

12.  Tell  something  of  the  fruitfulness  of  Good's  mis- 

sion work. 

13.  What  of  the  need  of  more  worliers? 

14.  What  of  the  lethargy  of  the  home  Church? 

15.  Tell  about  Good's  journey  to  America,  and  of  his 

platform  ability. 

16.  How    was    Good    received    upon    his    return    to 

Africa? 

17.  In  what  condition  did  he  find  the  work? 

18.  What  service  did  Good  perform  for  his  Board  in 

Liberia? 

19.  Tell  something  of  the  first  journey  of  exploration. 

20.  Tell  of  the  second  journey  and  the  new  mission. 

What  of  the  dense  population? 

21.  In  what  year  did  Good  bid  his  wife  a  final  fare- 

well? 

22.  Tell   something  of  Good's  systematic   habits  of 

life. 

23.  Relate  the  circumstances  of  Good's  last  journey 

and  its  sad  ending. 

24.  What  vow  did  the  five  young  men  make  at  Efu- 

len,    and    what    message    did    they    send    to 
America? 

25.  When  were  the  first  native  missionaries  sent  out, 

and  under  what  circumstances? 

Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  Work. 

References  are  to  "Life  for  Africa,"  by  Ellen C.  Parsons. 

1.  The  Gaboon  Region,  30-53. 

2.  Reasons   for   the   transfer   of   the    Presbyterian 

mission  to  the  French  Protestants,  45. 


126  The  Price  of  Africa 

3.  Mass  communion  at  Kangwe,  120. 

4.  The  fear  of  demons,  138. 

5.  The  Fang  Tribe,  145. 

6.  Some    of    the    difficulties    in    doing    evangelistic 

worli  among  the  natives,  150. 

7.  Dr.  Good's  first  journey  to  the  interior,  167. 

8.  Dr.  Good's  second  journey  to  the  interior,  184. 

9.  Dr.   Good's   contribution   to  science,   291. 

10.  Superstitions   and   religious   ideas  of   Equatorial 
West  Africa,  296. 

Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  Intertribal    wars,    their    usual    object,    and    their 

cruelty. 

2.  African  fevers,  their  cause  and  cure.     (How  may 

travelers  guard  against  the  fever?) 

3.  Reasons  for  the  deadly  climatic  conditions  of  the 

West  Coast. 

4.  Main  tribal  divisions  of  Africa. 

5.  The  liquor-traffic  in  Africa. 


ALEXANDER  M.  MACKAY, 

Born,  Ehynie,  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  October, 

13,  1849.     Died,  Usambiro,  East  Africa. 

February  8,  1890. 


"  You  sons  of  England,  here  is  a  field  for  your  energies. 
Bring  with  you  your  highest  education  and  your  greatest  talents; 
you  will  find  scope  for  the  exercise  of  them  all.  You  men  of  God, 
who  have  resolved  to  devote  your  lives  to  the  cure  of  the  souls  of 
men,  here  is  the  proper  field  for  you.  It  is  not  to  whi  numbers  to 
a  Church,  hut  to  win  men  to  the  Savior,  and  who  otherwise  will  be 
lost,  that  I  entreat  you  to  leave  your  work  at  home  to  the  many 
who  are  ready  to  undertake  it,  and  to  come  forth  yourselves  to 
reap  this  field  now  white  to  the  harvest.  Rome  is  rushing  in  with 
her  salvation  by  sacraments,  and  a  religion  of  carnal  ordinances. 
We  want  men  who  will  preach  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  'God 
IS  a  Spirit,'  and  let  him  who  believes  that  throw  up  every  other 
consideration  and  come  forth  to  teach  these  people  to  worship  Him 
in  spirit  and  in  tnith." — Mackay's  last  message  from  Usambiro, 
Lake  Victoria,  January  2, 1890. 

127 


Alexander  M.  Mack  ay 


FROM        GHE»T  MISSIONARIES  OF   THE   CHURCH,       BY   CREE8AN.        ^USLISHEO  BY 
THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL   &  CO. 


129 


Alexander   M.  Mackay. 

"  We  have  the  assurcmce  that  the  Lord's  people  will  be  brought 
out  of  great  tribulation  ;^'  we  therefore  cannot  take  it  to  be  His  will 
that  they  will  be  forever  left  in  trouble." 

On  the  day  that  Alexander  Mackay  was  A  Map  of  Africa 
born,  his  father,  a  minister  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland,  was  sitting  in  the  study  of  the 
manse,  looking  out  of  the  window.  It  was  a 
stormy  day,  and  the  landscape  was  a  dreary 
one.  Presently  the  minister  arose  and  sus- 
pended a  large  map  of  Africa  from  a  nail  upon 
the  top  of  one  of  the  large  bookcases  near  the 
window.  The  minister  became  interested  in 
the  great  unknown  regions  which  were  repre- 
sented on  the  map  by  a  "featureless  blank," 
the  barrenness  of  which  was  set  in  bold  relief 
by  "a  solitary  caterpillar,"  labeled  "Moun- 
tains of  the  Moon."  His  attention  was  finally 
fixed  on  the  portion  now  known  as  Eastern 
Africa,  and  he  repeated  to  himself,  "Latitude 
3°  30'  S.,  Longitude  37°  E."  As  he  proceeded, 
with  a  pencil  in  one  hand  and  a  magnifying 
131 


132  The  Price  of  Africa 

glass  in  the  other,  to  make  several  notes  on 
this  portion  of  the  map,  presently  the  "minis- 
ter's Annie,"  a  tall,  stately  old  servant,  quietly 
entered  the  room.  The  minister  v^as  so  ab- 
sorbed in  the  study  of  the  map  that  he  did  not 
hear  her  knock  nor  see  her  enter. 
A  Present  She  threw  a  log  on  the  fire  to  attract  his  at- 
tention, and  said,  "I  've  brocht  ye  a  present, 
sir."  Still  absorbed,  the  minister  said:  "Do 
you  see  this  pear-shaped  continent,  Annie? 
.  .  .  The  gospel  banner  will  yet  be  planted 
in  the  very  heart  of  this  continent,  although 
not  likely  in  your  day  nor  mine,  Annie."  "But 
may  be  it  '11  be  in  your  son^s,  sir ;  and  wha 
will  say  he  '11  nae  hae  a  han'  in  it  ?"  Some- 
thing in  her  tone  made  the  minister  look  quickly 
around,  and  he  observed  an  infant  in  her  arms. 
Quickly  transferring  his  thoughts  from  the 
heart  of  Africa  to  his  own  fireside,  he  said: 
"A  boy !  Bring  him  near  the  window,  and  let 
me  see  him."^ 
Father  and  Son  The  boy  must  have  pleased  the  father  well ; 
for  from  that  day  forward  nothing  delighted 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Mackay  more  than  to  give 
himself  unreservedly  to  the  entertainment  and 
instruction  of  his  son.  The  father  was  an  ar- 
dent student  and  a  man  of  marked  ability ;  and 


'As   told   by  his  sister.     See  The   Story  of  Mackay  of 
/ganda.    Chapter  I. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  133 

the  son  became  his  companion  and  pupil  until 
the  lad  was  fourteen  years  of  age. 

Alexander  Mackay  was  unusually  quick  to 
learn,  at  the  age  of  three  years  reading  with 
fluency  the  'New  Testament,  and,  at  the  age  of 
seven,  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost"  and  Gibbon's 
"Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire."  It 
was  noticed,  however,  that  the  boy,  even  in 
childhood,  preferred  to  watch  a  steam  engine, 
or  the  work  of  the  shipbuilders,  than  to  amuse 
himself  in  play  with  the  other  boys.  He  used 
to  walk  four  miles  to  the  railway  station,  and 
four  miles  back,  that  he  might  have  a  good 
look  at  the  engine  as  the  train  stopped  for  a 
moment  at  the  station. 

The  father  had  fondly  hoped  that  Alex- 
ander would  succeed  him  in  the  ministry;  and 
he  was  greatly  pained,  when  on  his  way  to  the 
railway  station  for  a  trip  to  Edinburgh,  he 
asked  his  son  what  book  he  should  bring  him, 
and  Alexander  replied  that  he  desired  instead 
a  printing  press.  The  father  told  him  of  his 
heart's  desire  that  he  should  become  a  preacher, 
and  Alexander  answered  simply:  "Well,  but, 
father,  Martin  Luther  says  that  'printing  is 
the  latest  and  greatest  gift  by  which  God  en- 
ables us  to  advance  the  things  of  the  gospel.'  "* 

While  to  the  father  Alexander  Mackay  was 
indebted  for  his  early  intellectual  training,  to 

»  The  Story  of  Mac>jj.<Nv  r\£  Hgauda.    Pasje  33. 


134  The  Price  of  Africa 

his  mother  the  Church  is  indebted  for  the  great 

missionary ;  for  it  was  in  the  home,  and  under 

The  Church  the    influence    of    his    mother,    that   Mackay's 

Indebted  to  the  thoughts  first  turned  toward  the  far-away  lands. 
His  mother  was  especially  careful  that  he 
should  study  the  Bible,  and  on  Sunday  evening 
she  heard  Alexander  recite  his  lesson  in  the 
Bible  and  Shorter  Catechism.  If  he  knew  his 
lesson  well,  she  would,  as  a  reward,  tell  him 
a  missionary  story.  And  among  other  things 
she  would  tell  him  about  how  she  herself  be- 
came interested  in  missions ;  of  how,  when  a 
little  girl,  she  heard  her  grandfather's  minis- 
ter preach  a  sermon  in  which  he  coupled  the 
words:  "If  ye  love  me,  ye  will  keep  my  com- 
mandments," and  "Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach 
all  nations."  After  a  sleepless  night  she  de- 
termined that  if  she  could  not  go  to  heathen 
lands  herself,  yet  she  would  do  what  she  could 
to  help  enlist  others,  and  to  give  money  to  send 
out  good  men.     Mackay's  sister  tells  us  that 

*  often  on  Sunday  night,  after  the  story,  Alex- 

ander would  ask,  "What  field  do  you  consider 
most  important.  Mother  ?"  And  she  would  tell 
him  that  Christ  died  for  all,  and  that  all  were 
important,  though  just  now  the  eyes  of  many 
were  being  turned  toward  Africa.  And  then 
the  boy  would  ask,  "Would  you  like  me  to 
go  as  a  missionary  to  Africa,  Mother  ?"  and  the 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  135 

answer  would  be,   "If  God  prepares  you  for 
it,  my  boy ;  but  not  unless."^ 

In  1867,  Alexander  was  sent  to  the  Tree  At  School  in 
Church  Training  College  for  Teachers  at  Edin-  Edinburgh 
burgh,  where  for  two  years  he  gained  knowl- 
edge concerning  methods  of  teaching  which 
were  particularly  valuable  to  him  when  he  be- 
came a  missionary.  After  he  had  been  for  two 
years  at  the  teachers'  college,  he  still  expressed 
his  determination  to  study  engineering,  and 
his  father  finally  permitted  him  to  go  to  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  could  spend 
much  of  his  time  in  engineering  work. 

ISTot  satisfied  with  his  university  course,  in  In  Berlin 
1873  Mackay  started  for  Berlin,  in  order  that 
he  might  master  the  German  language  and 
more  fully  qualify  himself  as  an  engineer. 
So  successful  was  he  that  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  he  became  the  chief  instructor  in  a  great 
engineering  establishment  near  Berlin.^ 

While  in  Berlin  he  was  constantly  thrown 
among  rationalists,  who  tried  to  shake  his 
faith  in  everything  which  his  mother  held  dear. 
But  Mackay  quickly  associated  himself  with  a 
godly  minister ;  and  the  resolve,  "I  must  make 
Christianity   a   practical   thing,"   brought   him 

iThe  Story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  SU 

« History  of   the  Church  Missionary  Society.     Vol.  Ill, 
page  97. 

9 


136  The  Price  of  Africa 

through  safely.  Indeed,  while  in  the  midst  of 
these  surroundings,  which,  as  he  afterwards 
saw,  were  a  preparation  for  his  struggle  with 
idolatry,  Mackay's  thought  was  more  directly 
turned  to  the  African  mission-field,  since  the 
minister  with  whom  he  was  stopping  was  at 
that  very  time  translating  the  Life  of  Bishop 
Patteson. 
A  Call  On  December  11,  1873,  Mackay's  sister 
wrote  him  that  she  had  heard  Dr.  Burns 
Thompson  give  an  interesting  account  of  the 
missionary  work  in  Madagascar,  and  that  he 
had  urged  the  young  men  to  give  themselves 
to  this  work,  and  to  go  out  as  medical  mission- 
aries. Full  notes  on  this  address  were  also 
sent  him  by  his  sister.  Upon  receipt  of  this 
letter,  Mackay  at  once  wrote,  offering  himself 
to  the  work,  suggesting  that  he  could  not  go  as 
a  doctor,  but  he  was  willing  to  go  as  an  engi- 
neer if  the  Lord  should  open  the  way.  Those 
who  believe  that  missionaries  ought  not  to  be 
sent  out  while  there  is  need  at  home,  may  find 
a  message  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
to  his  father,  which  was  written  in  the  midst 
of  German  rationalism  and  atheism:  "I  know 
there  is  a  mighty  work  here  to  do,  and  few  to 
do  it.  In  fact,  missionaries  can  nowhere  be 
more  necessary  than  here.  But  I  can  not, 
having  once  been  led  to  set  my  face  to  Mada- 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  137 

gascar,  turn  to  other  work  instead.  But  this 
will  I  do  if  the  Lord  enable  me :  I  will  be  more 
terribly  in  earnest  in  working  where  I  am, 
knowing  that  I  must  soon  go  elsewhere." 

Mackay's  offer  of  service  to  Madagascar  Mackay's 
having  reached  the  secretary  of  the  London  Response 
Missionary  Society,  the  secretary  wrote  him 
that  the  island  was  not  ripe  for  his  assistance, 
but  was  rapidly  making  way  in  that  direction, 
and  might  in  due  time  need  such  help  as  he 
could  give. 

JSTothing  daunted  by  this  first  rejection, 
Mackay  held  fast  to  his  purpose  and  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  prepare  for 
service  in  the  foreign  field.  In  1875  he  saw 
an  appeal  from  the  secretaries  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  asking  for  a  lay  sup«irin- 
tendent  to  take  oversight  of  several  settlements 
of  liberated  slaves  near  Mombasa,  and  writes 
home:  "Remembering  that  Duff  first  thought 
of  Africa  as  a  missionary  field,  but  was  sent  to 
India,  and  that  Livingstone  originally  intended 
to  evangelize  China,  but  the  Lord  willed  he 
should  spend  his  life  in  Africa,  so  perhaps  the 
Lord  means  me  after  all  to  turn  my  attention 
to  the  Dark  Continent.  Accordingly,  I  have 
offered  my  services  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society." 

In  writing  to  the  Church  Missionary  Soci- 


138  The  Price  of  Africa 

etj,  Mackay  said:  "My  heart  burns  for  the  de- 
liverance of  Africa,  and  if  you  can  send  me 
to  any  of  those  regions  which  Livingstone  and 
Stanley  have  found  to  be  groaning  under  the 
curse  of  the  slave-hunter,  I  shall  be  very  glad." 
An  Industrial  Mackay  was  accepted  for  Africa,  but  not 
Missionary  for  Mombasa.  Instead  he  was  made  one  of  the 
party  which  was  about  to  start  for  Uganda. 
Mackay  came  to  London,  procured  machinery 
and  tools  which  might  be  useful  in  an  industrial 
mission  in  Africa,  constructed  a  wooden  boat 
which  might  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  the 
natives  and  put  together  on  Victoria  JSTyanza; 
found  an  engineer  who  would  construct  for  this 
boat  a  boiler,  which  could  be  divided  into  rings 
so  that  each  ring  could  be  carried  by  two  men. 
In  cdd  moments  he  learned  something  of  as- 
tronomy, the  use  of  the  sextant,  printing,  pho- 
tography, vaccination,  the  use  of  the  stetho- 
scope, iron-puddling,  and  coal-mining. 
Zanzibar  Mackay  with  his  companions  set  sail  for 
Zanzibar,  April  2Y,  1876.  On  the  evening  of 
May  29th  they  sighted  Zanzibar,  and  Mackay 
wrote:  "Thanks  be  to  Almighty  God  we  are 
at  our  journey '3  end — let  me  rather  say,  be- 
ginning." ^ 

On  June  30,  18Y6,  Mackay  and  Lieutenant 
Smith  started  in  the  Daisy,  a  little  vessel  that 

» Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  44. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  139 

Mackay  had  made  in  London,  and  had  now  put 
together,  on  a  tour  of  exploration  up  the  river 
Wami,  in  the  hope  that  the  most  difficult  part 
of  the  road  to  Uganda  might  thus  be  avoided. 
The  river  was  found  to  be  unfit  for  navigation, 
and  the  party  therefore  were  compelled  to  go 
on  foot.  After  a  painful  march,  during  which 
two  of  the  eight  who  had  started  from  England 
had  succumbed  to  the  fever,  two  were  murdered 
by  the  natives,  and  two  had  been  compelled  to 
return  to  England  invalided,  and  Mackay  him- 
self had  been  so  seriously  ill  that  his  life  had 
been  despaired  of,  Wilson  and  Mackay,  the  two 
of  the  heroic  band  who  remained,  reached  the 
capital  of  Uganda,  ISTovember  6,  18Y8,  two  years 
and  a  half  after  they  left  England. 

Uganda^  is  situated  on  the  northwestern  Uganda 
shore  of  Victoria  N'yanza,  and  is  directly  under 
the  equator.  It  is  a  country  of  seventy  thou- 
sand square  miles,  fertile  and  populous.  The 
natives  are  called  Waganda  (or  Baganda),  and 
number  from  one  and  one-half  million  to  two 
millions  of  people.^ 

At  the  time  of  Mackay's  arrival  in  Uganda  Mackay  and  King 
King  Mtesa  was  on  the  throne.     It  will  be  re-  W*"^ 


1  The  root  word  is  Oanda.  The  prefix  U,  or  Bu,  means  the 
country  of  Ganda.  Wa,  or  Ba,  means  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try. The  prefixes  Ki,  Lu,  and  Bu  mean  the  language  of 
Ganda. 

2  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  this  Generation.    Page  86. 


140  The  Price  of  Africa 

called  that  King  Mtesa  had  told  Stanley  to  send 
white  men  to  his  kingdom,  and  it  was  in  re- 
sponse to  this  invitation  that  Stanley  wrote  his 
famous  "Challenge  to  Christendom,"  which  re- 
sulted in  the  eight  men  being  sent  out.  Soon 
after  their  arrival  the  king  granted  the  mission- 
aries a  friendly  interview,  and  they  entered  at 
once  upon  their  work.  The  king  soon  came  to 
esteem  Mackay  very  highly  because  of  his  skill 
in  iron  work,  and  his  ability  in  all  sorts  of  handi- 
craft. To  the  great  delight  of  the  king  Mackay 
explained  about  the  railways  and  steamers,  the 
telephone  and  telegraph.  At  times  he  gave  lec- 
tures in  astronomy,  and  explained  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood.  He  constructed  a  magic  lan- 
tern, making  the  chimney  out  of  old  biscuit  tins. 
The  king  was  not  able  to  understand  the  pic- 
tures of  houses,  as  he  had  never  seen  any  build- 
ings but  grass  huts ;  but  he  greatly  appreciated 
the  pictures  of  animals.  For  the  first  time  the 
king  saw  the  idea  of  rotary  motion  utilized  in 
revolving  hand  mills,  the  whirling  grindstones, 
the  use  of  the  screwdriver,  etc. 
His  Larger  During  the  days  w^hen  Mackay  was  over- 
coming the  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  was 
becoming  acquainted  with  them,  he  was  not  un- 
mindful of  the  larger  duties  which  devolved 
upon  him,  and  with  his  printing  press  he  pre- 
pared large  fly-sheets  in  the  Waganda  language, 


Duties 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  141 

from  which  he  began  to  teach  the  boys  to  read. 
The  type  for  these  sheets  Mackay  carved  out  of 
wood,  teaching  the  natives  the  alphabet  while 
he  was  cutting  them.  Before  the  end  of  the 
first  year  Mackay  even  had  a  limited  font  of 
lead  type,  which  he  himself  had  made.^ 

The  first  months  of  Mackay's  residence  in  Early  Enjoyments 
Uganda  were  delightful  to  him.  He  was  begin-  3"*'  difficulties 
ning  to  get  acquainted  with  the  people,  and 
greatly  to  enjoy  the  work,  when  imlooked-for 
difficulties  began  to  multiply.  First,  he  in- 
curred the  enmity  of  the  Arab  slave-traders 
through  his  energy  in  urging  King  Mtesa  to 
abolish  the  slave-trade  from  his  country. 
Throughout  his  stay  in  Uganda,  Mackay  was 
constantly  harrassed  by  them,  and  they  lost  no 
opportunity  to  slander  him  and  to  injure  his 
work.  To  make  matters  worse,  in  1879,  just 
when  the  work  was  becoming  established,  news 
came  that  two  white  men  had  come  in  a  canoe. 
These  were  discovered  to  be  the  vanguard  of 
a  party  of  French  Eomish  priests  who,  "Al- 
though the  whole  continent  was  open  to  them, 
preferred  to  go  where  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries were  already  at  work."  ^  Mackay's 
troubles  now  became  almost  more  than  he  could 
bear.    The  king,  who  had  before  been  favorable 

1  Picket  Line  of  Missions.    Page  89. 

2  The  Story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  136. 


142  The  Price  of  Africa 

to  him,  became  bewildered  by  tbese  priests,  and 
he  said  to  Mackaj:  "Every  nation  of  white  men 
has  another  religion.  How  am  I  to  know  what 
is  right  and  what  is  false?"  In  addition  to 
these  troubles,  the  heathen  priests  sought  to 
regain  their  ascendancy  through  a  woman  or 
witch,  who  professed  to  be  possessed  of  the 
demon  of  the  lake.  The  king,  who  for  a  time 
had  been  so  favorable  to  Christianity,  became 
frightened  by  the  solemn  adjurations  of  this 
witch,  and  finally  yielded,  and  "chose  a  sor- 
cerer instead  of  the  Lord  of  glory."  The  re- 
action which  now  set  in  toward  heathendom 
threatened  to  sweep  every  vestige  of  Mackay's 
work  from  the  country,  and  he  himself  was  in 
danger  of  violent  death.  From  the  first  Mackay 
knew  that  he  was  taking  his  life  in  his  hands 
when  he  entered  this  region,  but  he  now  lived 
in  daily  expectation  of  bodily  harm.  It  was 
during  this  epoch  of  darkness  that  the  king,  who 
was  ill,  had  been  told  by  his  evil  advisers  that 
he  might  recover  if  all  those  who  were  on  the 
roads  around  the  capital  were  slaughtered.  As 
a  result  of  this  suggestion,  forty  men  and  thirty 
women  were  captured  at  night  and  killed  im- 
mediately. Frequently  the  missionaries  could 
hear  from  their  dwellings  a  sharp  cry  followed 
by  an  agonizing  yell,  and  then  the  laugh  of  the 
natives  as  they  cut  the  captive's  throat. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  143 

Mackay  worked  early  and  late  at  his  vise  Resolves  to  Stay 
and  lathe  to  earn  food  for  himself  and  his  ''  ^^^  ''°^' 
companion.  At  this  dark  period  he  wrote: 
"1^0  real  success  in  missions  has  ever  yet  been 
won  without  long  opposition  and  frequent  vio- 
lent persecutions  for  years.  It  is  therefore  un- 
reasonable to  expect  that  it  will  be  otherwise 
here.  I  mean,  therefore,  to  stay  by  my  post  as 
long  as  God  enables  me.  If  I  am  peremptorily 
ordered  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  to 
return,  or  if  the  place  becomes  too  hot  for  me 
to  stay,  I  may  have  to  leave.  But  I  can  not 
just  now  think  any  other  course  honorable  or 
upright."  ^ 

Mackay  was  made  heartsick  day  after  day  The  Sla\«-Trade 
by  the  sight  of  armies  going  forth  to  devastate 
and  plunder  the  native  tribes,  and  to  bring  back 
slaves  to  be  sold  in  exchange  for  the  merchan- 
dise of  the  Arabs.  The  African  fever  added  to 
his  trials.  By  it  his  nerves  were  weakened,  and 
doubts  would  arise  in  his  mind  as  to  his  ability 
to  overcome  the  obstacles.  His  physical  weak- 
ness made  a  sore  trial  to  his  faith,  but  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  was  beset  on  every 
side,  the  inward  conviction  that  he  was  sup- 
ported by  the  everlasting  arm  of  God  enabled 
him  to  calmly  look  his  enemies  in  the  face  and 
to  persevere.     Sometimes  Mackay  and  his  com- 

1  The  Story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  146, 


144  The  Price  of  Africa 

panion  had  to  live  for  days  on  plantains.  They 
had  no  light,  not  even  a  candle,  and  after  dark 
they  had  to  sit  in  their  rooms  with  no  chance 
to  study  or  read.  Their  only  clock  was  the 
stars. 

The  natives  lost  no  opportunity  to  fleece 
the  white  men  and  to  rob  them  of  their  barter 
goods.  Mackay  was  especially  exasperated  by 
their  constant  endeavors  to  steal  the  brass  cocks 
and  other  fittings  of  the  engine  for  ornaments. 
But  during  all  these  trials  the  missionaries  went 
on  quietly  teaching  the  lads  who  came  to  them, 
and  Mackay  translated  St.  Matthew's  Gospel, 
aided  by  one  of  the  pupils. 

Between  1878  and  1881,  Wilson  and  Pier- 
son,  who  came  to  relieve  him,  and  the  other 
re-enforcements  which  had  previously  been  sent 
out  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  were 
compelled  to  leave,  Mackay  alone  remaining 
steadfast. 
The  Tide  Turns  In  1881  the  tide  began  to  turn.  Some  of 
the  chiefs  came  to  Mackay  for  instruction,  and 
the  boys  came  in  large  numbers.  Mackay  built 
a  house  with  a  thatched  roof  and  a  wide  veranda, 
the  first  one  ever  built  in  Uganda.  The  king 
became  much  interested  in  the  progress  of  the 
work,  and  he  issued  an  order  for  all  his  workers 
in  wood  and  iron  to  go  to  Mackay  for  instruc- 
tion.   He  granted  the  missionaries  about  twenty 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  145 

acres  of  land,  and  in  other  ways  manifested  his 
favor.  The  first  baptisms  took  place  in  1882. 
About  thirty  boys  dined  with  Mackay  on  this 
occasion.  Mackay  was  head  cook,  while  the 
baptismal  service  was  conducted  by  Mr.  OTlah- 
erty,  Mackay's  helper.  Mackay  writes  in  his 
journal:  "Five  lads  were  to-day  enrolled  in  the 
visible  Church  of  Christ  through  baptism.  .  .  . 
Lord  Jesus,  make  them  all-in-all  Thine  own, 
and  may  they  be  indeed  the  seed  of  Thy  Church 
in  this  land !  We  have  long  looked  for  this  day. 
l^ow  that  we  have  seen  it  with  our  eyes,  may 
we  give  our  Lord  no  rest  until  He  will  give 
these  young  Christians  His  grace  and  Spirit !"  ^ 

Soon  after  the  baptism  of  these  first  con-  Buries  the  Queen 
verts  Mackay  was  commissioned  to  bury  the  ^'o^''^'' 
queen  mother,  who  had  died.  The  king  sum- 
moned Mackay  to  his  court  to  inquire  as  to  how 
royalty  was  buried  in  Europe.  He  said  he  had 
determined  to  make  this  funeral  surpass  in 
splendor  anything  of  the  kind  that  had  ever 
been  seen  in  the  country.  Mackay  told  the  king 
that  in  Europe  they  made  three  coffins  for  the 
royalty,  the  inner  of  wood,  the  next  of  lead,  and 
the  outer  of  wood  covered  with  cloth.  The  king 
at  once  commissioned  Mackay  to  make  these 
coffins  with  everything  "as  large  as  possible.^' 
The  king  had  no  lead,  but  he  gave  Mackay  all 

1  The  story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  223. 


146  The  Price  of  Africa 

the  copper  in  his  stores.  Fine  bronze  trays  of 
Egyptian  workmanship,  copper  pots,  cans, 
drums,  and  plates  were  produced,  and  all  the 
artificers  in  the  country  were  ordered  to  come 
to  Mackay's  assistance.  Mackay  with  his  help- 
ers worked  early  and  late  for  a  month  in  the 
preparation  of  these  coffins,  and  when  they  were 
completed  the  king  expressed  unbounded  satis- 
faction at  the  work.  By  his  service  in  connec- 
tion with  this  funeral,  Mackay  won  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  the  king,  and  became  favorably 
known  throughout  the  kingdom.  More  than 
all,  he  won  the  friendship  of  the  head  black- 
smith of  the  realm,  v/ho  afterward  became  a 
Christian,  and  finally  died  a  martyr's  death. 
A  New  Station  In  1882  the  Eev.  R.  P.  Ashe  arrived,  and 
other  missionaries  came  as  far  as  the  south 
end  of  the  lake.  Since  there  were  now  two 
missionaries  beside  himself  in  Uganda,  Mackay 
began  to  think  of  other  stations,  and  he  opened 
a  new  one  at  Msalala. 
Death  of  the  Mackay  was  away  from  the  mission  station 
'''"8  when  the  news  reached  him  of  Mtesa's  death. 
He  knew  that  when  a  king  died  in  Africa  it 
was  probable  that  all  foreigners  would  be  plun- 
dered or  killed,  so  he  quickly  launched  his  boat 
and  went  to  try  to  rescue  his  fellow  mission- 
aries. But  armed  messengers  were  sent  by  the 
chiefs  to  bring  Mackay  to  the  capital  to  make 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  147 

the  wooden  and  metal  coffins  for  the  king,  as 
he  had  done  for  the  queen  mother.  Without 
hesitation  Mackaj  went  with  them  and  per- 
formed the  service  which  thej  desired. 

The  king's  son,  Mwanga,  a  youth  of  seven-  The  New  King 
teen,  succeeded  to  the  throne.     Up  to  the  time 
of  his  accession  he  was  well  disposed  to  the 
missionaries,  but  he  proved  to  be  a  weak  and  vi- 
cious king,  unstable  in  all  his  ways.    He  inaugu- 
rated one  of  the  most  terrible  reigns  of  blood 
and  terror  which  have  ever  been  known  in  the 
history  of  Christian  missions.      He  began  by 
torturing  and  then  burning  two  Christian  lads, 
who  were  especially  dear  to  Mackay.    The  little 
black  fellows  went  to  their  death  with  songs  of 
praise  on  their  lips,  the  first  martyrs  to  the  faith 
in  Uganda.    Mackay  was  heartsick.    He  wrote: 
"Our  hearts  are  breaking.     All  our  Christians 
dispersed.     We  are  lonely,  deserted,  sad,  and 
sick." 

Meanwhile  the  king  sent  for  Mackay,  and 
pretended  that  the  lads  had  been  burned  with- 
out his  knowledge.  Although  Mackay  well 
knew  that  death  might  be  the  penalty,  he 
bravely  told  the  king  that  he  had  committed  a 
great  sin  against  God  in  murdering  these  inno- 
cent boys. 

In  I^ovember  of  the  same  year  Mackay  and  Murder  of 
Ashe  heard  that  Bishop  Hannington  was  on  his  Hannington 


148  The  Price  of  Africa 

way  to  re-enforce  the  mission,  and  they  were 
horror-struck  to  learn  that  the  king  had  sent 
messengers  to  kill  the  bishop  and  his  party, 
servants  and  all,  and  to  bring  their  goods  to 
the  capital. 

In  his  journal,  October  26,  1885,  Mackay 
writes:  "Too  nervous  to  sleep.  Up  long  before 
dawn.  Ashe  and  I  wrote  note  to  king,  craving 
an  interview,  but  we  did  not  succeed  in  seeing 
him.  The  good  Lord  save  our  bishop  and  the 
brethren  from  the  hands  of  these  assassins !"  ^ 

Four  days  later  word  came  that  the  white 
men  had  been  killed,  with  all  their  servants. 
Although  almost  broken  down  with  anxiety 
and  loss  of  sleep,  and  although  Ashe  at  first 
thought  that  they  ought  to  shake  the  dust  of 
Uganda  from  their  feet,  these  missionaries  re- 
mained at  their  perilous  post.  They  were  sum- 
moned to  meet  the  king,  who  was  most  inso- 
lent. They  learned  through  others  that  his 
majesty  had  arrayed  himself  in  the  robes  of 
the  murdered  bishop,  and  it  was  extremely  hard 
for  them  to  remain  patient ;  but  Mackay  was 
more  than  ever  child-like  and  trustful  in  his 
prayer  and  in  his  manner. 
Bitter  The  king  was  eager  for  Mackay  to  stay  for 
Persecutions  ^j^^  work,  and  the  presents  which  he  could  get 
out  of  him.    But  he  relentlessly  persecuted  the 

1  The  Story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  274. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  149 

native  Cliristians.  One  day  "the  very  flower  of 
the  Christian  community,  thirty-two  in  number, 
were  slowly  burnt  to  death,  and  that,  too,  by 
Mwanga's  express  orders.  .  .  .  These  mar- 
tyrs made  a  noble  confession,  praying  to  God 
in  the  fire,  so  that  even  the  head  executioner 
reported  to  the  king  that  'he  had  never  killed 
such  brave  people  before;  that  they  died  call- 
ing on  God.'  " 

The  king  by  this  carnival  of  blood  hoped 
to  stamp  out  the  Christian  religion  forever; 
but  the  history  of  the  early  Church  was  re- 
peated in  Uganda.  By  the  heroic  death  of 
these  martyrs  the  people  were  profoundly 
stirred,  and  there  was  such  a  reaction  that  "an 
almost  epidemic  desire  to  read  and  learn 
set  in."^ 

At  this  time,  and  throughout  the  later  per-  » in  Deaths  Oft " 
secutions,  Mackay's  life  hung  by  a  thread. 
Because  of  ill  health,  Ashe  had  been  compelled 
to  return  to  England,  and  for  eleven  months 
Mackay  was  left  to  face  the  danger  alone. 
More  than  once  the  king  called  in  his  sorcerers 
to  divine  whether  or  not  he  should  put  Mackay 
to  death.  But  the  chief-justice  would  never 
assent  to  Mackay's  being  killed,  because  he  re- 
membered the  service  Mackay  had  rendered  in 
the  burial  of  the  queen  mother  and  of  the  king. 

1  History  of  Protestant  Missions.    Waineck.    Page  229 


the  Lake 


150  The  Price  of  Africa 

Jealousy  of  To  cap  the  climax,  the  Mohammedans  made 
Mohammedans  ^  j^^^  ^^^  terrible  effort  to  establish  Moham- 
medanism, and  to  drive  out  the  Christians. 
They  tried  to  kill  Mackay.  They  inflamed  the 
king's  mind  by  telling  him  the  most  outrageous 
stories,  and  by  declaring  that  Mackay  was  ac- 
tuated by  political  motives. 
Mackay  Crosses  Mackay  at  last  became  so  worn  with  the 
cares  of  the  work  that  he  determined  to  go  to 
the  south  of  the  lake  as  soon  as  another  mis- 
sionary had  been  sent  to  take  his  place.  He 
says:  "I  am  at  times  sorely  perplexed,  but  I 
think  it  well  to  bend  before  the  storm  until  it 
breaks ;  and  when  a  reaction  comes  we  may 
lift  up  our  heads."  It  is  certain  that  he  would 
never  have  gone  for  rest  alone ;  but  he  had  be- 
come convinced  that  the  ever-increasing  hos- 
tility of  the  Arabs  was  due  to  personal  ani- 
mosity to  him,  and  he  believed  that  if  he  were 
to  leave  the  mission  for  a  time  they  would  cool 
down.  Moreover,  he  believed  that  it  would  be 
a  good  thing  for  the  king  if  he  were  to  retire 
for  a  time,  in  order  that  the  king  might,  by 
being  deprived  of  his  assistance,  have  an  op- 
portunity to  realize  how  valuable  Mackay's  help 
had  been  to  him. 

Crossing  the  lake,  Mackay  met  Mr.  Gordon, 
•who,  after  a  few  days'  conference  with  Mackay, 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  151 

bravely  went  back  to  take  up  Mackay's  work 
among  the  persecuted  Christians  in  Uganda. 

While  resting,  Mackay  remained  at  Usam-  Bishop  Parker 
biro,  where  he  welcomed  Bishop  Parker  and 
four  companions.  After  so  many  years  among 
a  barbarous  and  degraded  people,  the  society  , 
of  the  bishop  was  especially  grateful  to  him; 
but  hardly  was  the  first  conference  over  when 
Bishop  Parker  and  another  missionary  died  of 
the  fever.  Mr.  Walker,  one  of  the  little  band 
that  was  left,  crossed  the  lake,  and  joined  Gor- 
don in  Uganda. 

While  waiting  at  Usambiro,  Mackay  had  Stanley 
the  great  privilege  of  meeting  Stanley.  His 
heart  was  gladdened  by  the  news  from  the 
home  land,  and  during  the  days  which  he  and 
Stanley  spent  together,  Mackay  so  impressed 
himself  upon  the  traveler  that  Stanley  said 
^Mackay  was  the  greatest  missionary,  next  to 
Livingstone,  that  he  had  ever  met. 

Stanley  and  his  party  urged  Mackay  to  ac- 
company them  to  Europe;  but  he  refused  to 
leave  his  work  until  some  one  might  be  sent  to 
take  his  place.  "Stanley  and  his  party  came 
home  to  European  platforms  and  royal  recep- 
tions ;  the  lonely  missionary  went  to  the  palace 
of  the  King  of  kings."^ 

iTtie  story  of  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Page  302. 
10 


152  The  Price  of  Africa 

The  Fire  Dies  Out  Throughout  the  period  of  his  sojourn  in 
Usambiro,  Mackay  constantly  worked  at  his 
lathe  and  at  his  forge.  He  was  repairing  his 
three-cjlinder  engine  and  two  steam  pumps 
which  had  become  seriously  out  of  repair  dur- 
ing his  African  work.  He  said,  "High-pres- 
sure steam  is  not  a  thing  to  play  with,  and,  un- 
less every  part  is  carefully  calculated  for 
strength,  and  exactly  fitted,  there  may  be  ac- 
cidents for  which  I  would  be  responsible." 

On  the  8th  of  February,  1890,  "the 
din  of  the  iron  hammer  was  hushed,  the  glare 
of  the  furnace  faded,  the  last  blast  of  the  bel- 
lows was  blown."  Mackay  laid  himself  down 
on  the  bed  where  Bishop  Parker  had  breathed 
his  last,  and  after  four  days  of  delirium  he 
closed  his  eyes  in  sleep.  On  the  following  Sun- 
day afternoon  the  village  boys  and  some  of  the 
Christians  who  had  followed  him  from  Uganda 
gathered  around  the  grave.  Mackay  was  bur- 
ied in  a  coffin  made  from  the  wood  which  he 
had  gathered  for  his  boat.  As  the  body  was 
lowered  into  the  grave,  the  Christians  sang  in 
the  native  language,  "All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name." 
The  Hidden  Ludwig  Krapf  once  said,  "If  a  man  can  not 
Meaning  j^gUgy^.  jj^  |}jg  ]iid(](>n  and  wonderful  works  of 
God,  he  can  not  understand  spiritual  or  mis- 


Alexander  M,  Mackay  153 

sionarj  work."^  This  is  particularly  true  ia 
its  relation  to  a  life  like  that  of  Alexander 
Mackaj.  When  Mackaj  died,  the  affairs  of 
the  mission  could  hardly  have  been  in  worse 
condition.  One  without  spiritual  perception 
might  have  written  in  large  letters  on  the  rude 
wooden  cross  over  his  grave  the  one  word, 
"Failure." 

He  had  been  driven  from  the  Uganda  Mis-  His  Life  Seemed  a 
sion,  where  he  had  spent  the  best  years  of  his  ''^''"''^ 
life;  his  converts  there  had  been  scattered  by 
persecution,  the  two  bishops  who  had  been  sent 
out  in  response  to  his  appeals  had  died,  the  one 
of  fever,  the  other  murdered  by  the  king's  sol- 
diers. The  new  mission  at  Usambiro,  which 
Mackay  had  hoped  to  establish,  was  found  to  be 
very  unhealthy,  and  after  Mackay's  death  it 
was  deserted  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 
He  had  tried  to  make  a  highway  for  travel, 
and  had  found  huge  trees  thrown  across  the 
road  by  the  natives  and  great  gullies  washed  by 
the  rains.  He  had  tried  to  build  a  good  boat 
for  the  lake,  and  his  body  was  buried  in  a  coffin 
made  from  the  very  timbers  which  he  had  gath- 
ered. He  was  misunderstood  by  the  commit- 
tee at  home,  and  four  separate  times  they  had 
endeavored  to   recall   him   on    "more   or  less 


1  Brief  Sketch  of  C.  M.  S.  Workers.    Chapter  V,  page  8. 


154  The  Price  of  Africa 

frivolous  charges."^  But  Mackay  had  learned 
the  secret  of  the  peace  which  passeth  under- 
standing, and,  following  closely  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  Master,  he  knew  how  to  die. 
Mackay  Still  Mackay  still  sleeps  in  the  little  graveyard 
"'"  at  Usambiro.  The  last  report  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  contains  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries who  had  recently  visited  the  grave: 
"On  Saturday,  August  11th,  I  visited  our  old 
mission  station  at  Usambiro.  There  is  not  very 
much  left  of  it.  A  few  pillars  of  the  workshop 
are  still  standing,  and  the  boiler  which  Mackay 
was  making  is  lying  there  also.  My  object  in 
visiting  Usambiro  was  to  try  and  bring  that 
boiler  away  with  me ;  however,  I  found  it  too 
heavy  to  take  away  in  canoes,  and  it  would  re- 
quire a  larger  dhow  than  is  at  present  afloat 
on  Lake  Victoria  to  take  it.  The  graves  are 
in  good  order,  but  the  living  fence  which  sur- 
rounds them  has  suffered  from  grass  fire."^ 

But  Mackay's  work  goes  on.  In  all  the  won- 
derful record  of  modern  missionary  achieve- 
ment there  is  no  more  marvelous  story  than 
that  of  the  Uganda  Mission. 

In  the  twenty  years  since  the  first  convert 
was  baptized  there  have  been  great  changes. 

1  Chronicles  of  Uganda.    Page  85. 

« Proceedings  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  1900-91. 
Page  158. 


A  British 
Protectorate 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  155 

Uganda  has  been  placed  under  the  protection 
of  the  British  flag,  and  peace  reigns  through- 
out the  country.  But  ten  years  ago  mission- 
aries who  went  to  Central  Africa  were  given 
the  following  instructions:  "You  miist  remem- 
ber that,  as  the  field  of  your  mission  is  at  pres- 
ent beyond  any  immediate,  and  even  direct, 
protection  of  any  European  State,  you  enter  it 
carrying  your  life  in  your  hand.  If  plundered  of 
your  property,  there  is  no  hope  of  redress;  if 
detained  in  bondage,  liberty  can  only  be  hoped 
for  through  friendly  interference;  if  you  die 
by  the  hand  of  the  heathen,  no  demand  for  repa- 
ration can  be  made.  ISTothing  less  is  expected 
of  you,  therefore,  than  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifi^ce 
and  patience."^ 

In  striking  contrast,  the  country  is  now  ruled 
by  an  administration  in  the  name  of  the 
crown.  There  are  commissioners,  vice-con- 
suls, police,  magistrates,  tax  collectors,  customs 
officers,  clerks,  and  storekeepers.  "The  day 
of  Queen  Victoria's  funeral  was  observed 
throughout  Uganda  with  profound  mourning. 
Memorial  services  were  held  by  Bishop  Tucker 
in  the  large  church  on  I*Tamirembe.  Judge 
Collinson  represented  the  absent  special  com- 
missioner, and  Lieutenant  Keen  represented  the 

I  Instructions   to  Our  African   Missionaries,   Church   of 
.Gotland.    Page  2. 


156  The  Price  of  Africa 

Uganda  Rifles.  There  was  a  large  gathering 
of  Baganda,  and  the  scene  was  deeply  impress- 
ive. At  Port  Alice  a  memorial  service  was 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  E.  Millar.  Colonel 
Coles,  commandant  of  the  Uganda  Rifles,  and 
the  heads  of  all  departments,  formed  a  proces- 
sion, together  with  ten  thousand  native  mourn- 
ers, from  the  court-house  to  the  public  square, 
where  an  open-air  service  was  held  with  mili- 
tary honors.  Subsequently  all  the  chiefs  called 
at  the  Collectorate,  and  took  the  oath  of  loy- 
alty to  His  Majesty,  King  Edward  VII.  The 
offices  and  shops  of  all  nationalities,  including 
those  of  Arabs  and  Indians,  as  well  as  Euro- 
peans, were  closed."* 
The  Uganda  The  road  which  Mackay  built  has  been  re- 
Railroad  placed  by  the  Uganda  Railroad,  which  has 
been  completed.  The  journey  which  in  1896 
required  a  perilous  trip  of  three  months  can 
now  be  made  in  four  days.  Bishop  Tucker  in 
1898  traveled  from  Tabeta  to  Mombasa  in  a 
saloon  carriage,  and  obtained  hot  water  for 
tea  at  a  station  in  the  midst  of  the  desert.^ 
Mackay's  little  boat  has  been  replaced  by  a 
steamer  named  the  William  MacJcinnon,  which 
is  capable  of  carrying  two  hundred  men. 

More  wonderful  than  these  transformations 

1  Proceedings  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.    Page  126. 

2  History  of   the  Church  Missionary  Society.     Vol.  III. 
page  738. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  157 

has  been  the  change  in  the  spiritual  condition 
of  Uganda.  In  1882,  after  five  years  of  labor, 
the  first  convert  was  baptized.  In  1896,  Pilk- 
ington  of  Uganda,  wrote:  "A  hundred  thou- 
sand souls  brought  into  close  contact  with  the 
gospel — half  of  them  able  to  read  for  them- 
selves. Two  hundred  buildings  raised  by  na- 
tive Christians  in  which  to  worship  God  and 
read  his  Word.  Two  hundred  native  evangel- 
ists and  teachers  entirely  supported  by  the  na- 
tive Church ;  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  'New 
Testament  in  circulation;  six  thousand  souls 
eagerly  seeking  daily  instruction ;  statistics  of 
baptism,  of  confirmation,  of  adherents,  of 
teachers,  more  than  doubling  yearly  for  the 
last  six  or  seven  years,  ever  since  the  return 
of  the  Christians  from  exile ;  the  power  of  God 
shown  by  changed  lives,  and  all  this  in  the 
center  of  the  thickest  spiritual  darkness  in  the 
world!  Does  it  not  make  the  heart  reel  with 
mingled  emotions  of  joy  and  fear,  of  hope  and 
apprehension  ?"^ 

In  1900  the  Church  Missionary  Society  was 
able  to  report  over  four  thousand  converts  in 
a  single  year  and  a  native  Church  with  a  mem- 
bership of  28,282.  The  latest  message  from 
Uganda  tells  an  even  more  wonderful  story: 
"Eleven  years  ago,  in  1892,  there  was  only  one 

'The  Gospel  In  Uganda.    Page  10. 


158  The  Price  of  Africa 

Church  in  Uganda,  now  there  are  more  than 
seven  hundred ;  then  there  were  only  twenty 
native  teachers,  now  they  number  over  two 
thousand ;  then  only  two  hundred  baptized  na- 
tive converts ;  now  they  exceed  thirty  thousand. 
And  all  this  work  is  self-supporting.  Twenty- 
seven  native  clergy  and  two  thousand  native 
teachers  are  all  supported  by  the  Baganda 
Christians;  and  they  built  all  their  own 
Churches.  .  .  .  There  are  now  something 
like  one  hundred  thousand  people  reading  for 
baptism."^ 
A  Seed  Sown  in  By  pondering  facts  like  these,  one  may  get 
Good  Ground  gome  conception  of  the  possibilities  of  a  seed 
which  falls  into  the  ground  and  dies.  Surely 
the  lives  of  Mackay  and  Pilkington  and  Han- 
nington,  and  the  scores  of  native  martyrs  of 
Uganda,  have  not  been  in  vain. 

Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  Who  was  Mackay's  father? 

2.  In    what    way    is    the    Church    indebted   to   the 

mother   for   Mackay,    the   missionary? 

3.  Where  did  Mackay  get  his  education? 

4.  What  position  did   Mackay  hold  at  the  age  of 

twenty-six? 

5.  How  did  Mackay  receive  his  call  to  the  mission 

field? 

6.  What  was   the  result  of  his  application  to  the 

London  Missionary  Society? 


I  The  Missionary  Revieiv  0/  the  World,  June,  1002.    Page  415. 


Alexander  M.  Mackay  159 

7.  Under  what  Society  did  Macliay  go  to  the  field? 

8.  To  what  place  did  he  go?    Tell  something  of  the 

country. 

9.  Who  was  king,  and  how  did  it  happen  that  mis- 

sionaries were  sent  to  that  liingdom? 

10.  How  was  Macliay  received  by  the  king? 

11.  What  did   Mackay  do  in  promoting  his  regular 

missionary  work? 

12.  What  was  the  advantage  of  his  industrial  train- 

ing? 

13.  What  special  difficulties  did  he  encounter? 

14.  What  was  Mackay's  attitude  toward  these  diffi- 

culties? 

15.  What  was  Mackay's  experience  with  the  slave- 

trade  and  with  the  Arabs? 

16.  In  what  year  were  the  first  converts  baptized? 

How    long    was    this    after    Mackay    reached 
Uganda? 

17.  What  service  did  Mackay  perform  in  the  capacity 

of  undertaker? 

IS.  Give  the  name  and  tell  something  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  new  king. 

19.  W  hat  can  you  tell  of  the  murder  of  Bishop  Han- 

nington? 

20.  What   of  the  persecutions  and   the   martyrs  of 

Uganda? 

21.  Why  did  Mackay  leave  his  station? 

22.  Eelate  the   circumstances   of   Mackay's   meeting 

with  Bishop  Parker,  also  with  Stanley. 

23.  Where   and   when   did   Mackay   die,   and   under 

what  circumstances? 

24.  What  were  the   discouraging  conditions  at  the 

time  of  Mackay's  death? 

25.  What  are  the  encouraging  facts  concerning  the 

present  condition  of  the  Uganda  Mission? 


i6o  The  Price  of  Africa 


Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  Work. 

Note.— The  references  below  are  to  "  The  Story  of  Mackay, 
of  Uganda"  (to  be  found  In  Missionary  Campaign  Library, 
No.  1.) 

1.  Uganda,  its  location,  size,  population,  etc.,  58-64. 

2.  Difficulties     of     road-maliing     in     Africa,     90-93. 

Picket  line  of  missions,  78-83. 

3.  Mackay's    experience    with    the    slave-trade,    89, 

174-185,  245. 

4.  The  difficulties  of  navigation  in  Mackay's  time: 

(a)  River;  (b)  Lake,  124,  125,  126,  68-73. 

5.  King  Mtesa  and  the  queen  mother,  126-147,  162, 

166-196. 

6.  The  African  palaver,  178-188. 

7.  Mackay  as  an  industrial  missionary,  152,  153. 

8.  Mackay  as  an  undertaker,  225-237. 

9.  Mackay's  idea  of  the  "iron  horse,"  313-323. 
10.  The  martyrs  of  Uganda,  273-284. 

Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  The  native  kings  of  Africa:  How  chosen.      Their 

power. 

2.  The  Mohammedans  in  Africa.     Their  great  train- 

ing-school  at   Cairo.     Their   methods   of   propa- 
gating their  faith. 

3.  The  wizards  and  witches  of  Africa. 

4.  The  relation   of  General   Gordon  to  the  African 

slave-trade. 

5.  The  translation  of  the  Scripture  into  the  African 

languages  and  dialects;  difficulties  and  present 
achievements. 


MELVILLE   B.  COX 

FIRST  MISSIONARY  OF  THE  METHODIST 
EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  TO  AFRICA 

Born,  Hallowell,  Maine,  November  9,  1799. 

Died,  Liberia,  Africa,  July  21,  1833. 

Age,  Thirty-three. 


On  his  way  to  the  mission  field  he  visited  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity at  Middletoion,  Conn.  On  taking  leave  of  a  young  friend, 
he  said,  ^^ If  I  die  in  Africa  you  must  come  and  write  my  epitaph.''^ 
''I  will,"  said  the  friend ;  "hut  what  shall  I  write  T^  ''Write," 
said  he,  with  peculiar  emphasis,  ''Let  a  thousand  fall  before  Africa 
be  given  up." 

i6i 


Melville  B.  Cox 
163 


Melville   B.  Cox 

"Abraham  once   went — he  knew  not  where;  I  will 
trust  in  Abraham's  God." — Melville  B.  Cox. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1832,  Bishop  Hed-  Wanted  a, 
ding,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  pre-  "'ssionary  for 
sided  over  the  session  of  the  Virginia  Confer- 
ence at  ISTorf oik.  "At  that  time  the  infant  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  had  not  appropriated  a  single  dollat  to 
fields  outside  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
Indeed,  the  annual  contribution  of  the  Church 
for  missions  had  not  yet  reached  the  sum  of 
seven  thousand  dollars.  However,  the  convic- 
tion had  been  deepening  that  the  Church  had 
a  duty  to  perform  in  extending  the  gospel,  and 
some  of  the  leaders  were  becoming  very  much 
in  earnest  about  the  subject  of  establishing  a 
foreign  mission."  ^ 

In  the  year  1820  the  question  of  the  ad- 
visability of  establishing  a  mission  in  Liberia 

1  History  of  Methodist  Missions.    Reid  and  Qracey.    Page 
155. 

165 


i66  The  Price  of  Africa 

was  debated  in  the  General  Conference,  and 
the  committee  to  which  the  question  was  re- 
ferred reported  favorably.  At  each  subsequent 
session  of  the  General  Conference  the  matter 
of  establishing  the  mission  in  Africa  was 
brought  up  favorably,  and  commended  to  the 
attention  of  the  bishops.  In  1825  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  informed 
the  Church  that  the  "state  of  the  funds  is  such 
as  to  justify  the  sending  out  of  a  missionary ;" 
and  the  bishops  were  urged  by  the  Board  to 
appoint  a  missionary  to  Liberia. 

l^otwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  General 
Conference  had  urged  the  establishment  of  a 
mission,  and  that  the  Missionary  Society  had 
declared  that  the  funds  were  in  readiness,  it 
was  seven  years  before  the  first  missionary 
was  sent  out.  The  only  reason  given  for  the 
long  delay  is  that  "no  suitable  persons  could 
be  found  who  were  willing  to  embark  in  the 
hazardous  enterprise."^ 
The  Missionary  While   the    Conference   was   in   session   at 

Found  Norfolk,  Va.,  the  attention  of  Bishop  Hedding 
was  attracted  by  a  pale  young  man  who  was 
evidenth^  fighting  a  battle  with  a  mortal  dis- 
ease. The  .young  man  was  so  much  broken  in 
health  that  he  had  been  forced  to  quit  the  pas- 

J  Sermon  by  Nnthan  Bangs,  Methodist  Magazine  and  Quar- 
terly Review,    Vol.  I,  page  6. 


Melville  B.  Cox  167 

torate  and  to  travel  as  an  invalid  in  the  South. 
This  delicate  invalid  sought  an  interview  with 
the  bishop,  and  surprised  him  by  saying  that 
he  very  much  wished  to  go  as  a  missionary  to 
South  America. 

For  months  Bishop  Hedding  had  been  try- 
ing to  find  a  man  who  would  be  willing  to  go 
to  Africa;  and  as  he  looked  into  the  brilliant 
eye  flashing  with  missionary  fire,  he  said,  "Why 
not  to  Liberia  ?"  After  a  prayerful  pause  the 
young  man  replied,  "If  the  Lord  will,  I  think 
I  will  go." 

Properly  to  understand  the  significance  of 
this  decision,  some  knowledge  of  the  early  life 
of  the  young  man  is  necessary. 

Cox  was  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  N"ovem-  Melville  B.  Cox 
ber  9,  1799.  His  father,  James  Cox,  was  a 
Bostonian,  and  was  a  patriot  who  distinguished 
himself  as  a  soldier  in  the  American  Eevolution. 
The  parents  were  never  wealthy,  and  at  times 
were  poor.  Melville's  early  years  were  spent 
upon  the  farm,  that  cradle  of  American  great- 
ness. Up  to  the  age  of  ten  he  was  kept  in  the 
public  school;  but  he  was  able  to  enjoy  that 
privilege  in  but  few  instances  afterward. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  accepted  Christ  His  Religi&us 
as  his  personal  Savior.     Concerning  this  expe-  E^l^ef'tnce 
rience,  he  says:   "One  Sunday  evening,   after 
having  attended  church,  an  old  promise  which 


i68  The  Price  of  Africa 

I  had  heard  from  a  preacher  revived  with  some 
comfort  in  my  mind.  He  said,  while  trying 
to  encourage  mourners,  that,  however  great  our 
sins,  if  we  were  fully  determined  to  seek  God 
with  all  our  hearts,  the  Lord  would  not  suffer 
us  to  die  without  forgiveness.  ...  I  went 
to  a  little  grove  full  in  my  view,  and  continued 
to  pray  for  some  time  without  any  change  of 
feeling.  Finally  I  concluded  that  I  must  give 
it  up,  and,  between  despair  and  hope,  I  was 
about  to  do  so.  But  at  that  moment,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  my  heart  was  filled  with 
joy.  I  praised  God.  I  felt  light.  I  looked 
around  to  see  the  'new  sun  and  the  new  earth' 
that  I  had  been  taught  to  expect.  'T  was  the 
same,  only  now  they  wore  a  smile  instead  of 
gloom.  The  change  was  in  me." 
Called  to  Preach  Soon  after  his  conversion,  Mr.  Cox  felt 
called  to  preach.  He  had  been  employed  in  a 
book  store,  and  he  had  spent  all  his  spare  mo- 
ments in  reading  and  in  going  to  lectures.  In 
this  way  he  acquired  a  good  general  education, 
and  subsequently  he  studied  Latin  and  Greek, 
thus  carefully  preparing  for  the  work. 

On  December  27,  1820,  at  Readfield,  Me., 
he  preached  his  first  sermon.  In  his  quaint  way 
he  tells  us  of  this  experience:  "The  meeting 
was  held  in  Carleton's  schoolhouse.  I  trem- 
bled so  I  could  scarcely  see  a  letter  in  the  hymn- 


Melville  B.  Cox  169 

book  till  I  rested  my  hand  on  the  pulpit.  The 
text  was,  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord  forever;  for 
the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength.'  The 
text  I  thought  quite  as  applicable  to  myself  as 
to  any  that  heard  me." 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  Mr.  Cox  entered  the 
regular  ministry  of  the  Church.  To  him  the 
call  to  preach  was  a  solemn  call  from  God.  He 
regarded  himself  as  a  messenger  of  Christ, 
and  fully  believed  that  the  final  destiny  of  hu- 
man souls  hung  on  the  faithfulness  of  his  min- 
istry. His  twin  brother  says  of  him:  "We 
think  we  are  safe  in  saying — and  we  speak  with 
an  acquaintance  that  none  else  had — that  it  was 
the  bearing  that  his  calling  had  upon  eternity 
alone  that  moved  him  to  engage  in  the  work. 
ISTay,  it  was  this  that  kept  him  in  it,  and  that 
kept  him  from  fainting  by  the  way." 

His  equipment  was  that  of  the  ordinary 
itinerant  of  his  time:  a  suit  of  clothes,  a  horse, 
saddlebags,  and  a  few  books. 

When  twenty-five  years  of  age,  Mr.   Cox  His  First 

was  appointed  to  Kennebunk,   Maine.      Here,  Pastorate  and 

n,  J-  1       ■    •  .         ^  His  Illness 

alter  a  very  successiui  ministry,  he  was  pros- 
trated by  a  disease  which  nearly  cost  him  his 
life.  The  illness  greatly  sobered  him,  and  he 
thought  much  about  the  possibility  of  death. 
In  writing  to  his  mother,  he  said:  "As  if  in  an- 
ticipation of  what  awaited  me,  I  hastened  to 
11 


lyo  The  Price  of  Africa 

do  mj  work,  under  many  apprehensions  of  soon 
being  called  to  account  for  my  stewardship." 
From  this  first  illness  Mr.  Cox  never  fully 
recovered;  and  a  year  later  he  was  again  pros- 
trated. From  the  second  attack  he  slowly 
gained  strength,  so  that  he  was  able  to  go,  by 
slow  stages,  to  visit  his  brother.  In  1826  his 
health  was  completely  broken,  and  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  he  left  Hallowell  for  the  South. 
His  Marriage  After  some  months  of  travel,  during  which 
his  health  somewhat  improved,  he  settled  in 
Baltimore,  where,  on  February  7,  1828,  he 
married  Ellen  Cromwell,  the  daughter  of  a  dis- 
tinguished family  residing  in  that  city.  Here 
for  a  brief  time  Mr.  Cox  enjoyed  the  happiest 
hours  of  his  life.  His  wife  seems  to  have  been 
a  character  of  unusual  loveliness;  and  the  af- 
fection between  the  two  was  noted  by  all  who 
knew  them.  Their  love  was  constant  and  mu- 
tual. Of  his  wife,  Mr.  Cox  himself  says:  "I 
sincerely  believe  the  world  has  not  her  equal 
in  some,  at  least,  of  the  most  essential  virtues. 
She  sought  no  pleasure,  no  company,  but  mine. 
Her  house  was  her  home,  and  if  it  numbered 
me  and  our  little  one,  it  was  enough." 
A  Moonless  Night  ^ut  the  sunshine  did  not  last  long.  The 
year  1830  Mr.  Cox  calls  a  moonless  night.  His 
wife,  three  of  his  brothers-in-law,  and  his  own 
little  child  "followed  each  other  to  the  2:rave 


Melville  B.  Cox  171 

in  rapid  and  melancholy  succession."  For  a 
man  of  his  temperament  grief  like  this  was 
unusnallj  hard  to  bear,  especially  since  an  at- 
tack of  the  fever  had  left  his  body  as  frail  as 
it  could  well  be.  His  lungs  were  now  so  weak 
that  the  slightest  exertion,  even  in  conversa- 
tion, gave  him  great  pain.  Indeed,  during  the 
sickness  of  his  wife  he  says:  "I  was  too  sick 
to  afford  those  attentions  which  health  would 
have  enabled  me  to  show.  I  could  only  kneel 
by  her  side,  and  weep  that  I  could  not  relieve 
her." 

Unfitted  by  ill  health  for  any  work,  Mr. 
Cox's  mind  would  not  allow  him  to  rest,  and  in 
February,  1831,  he  resolved  to  go  and  offer 
himself,  broken  down  as  he  was,  to  the  Vir- 
ginia Conference,  as  he  felt  that,  if  die  he  must, 
he  would  prefer  to  die  "in  the  harness." 

When  he  left  Annapolis  for  the  Methodist  Broken-down  but 
Conference  at  N^ewbern,  he  was  so  weak  that  "  Effective " 
often  he  found  himself  unable  to  bear  any 
movement,  and  he  was  compelled  to  travel  by 
slow  stages,  and  to  stop  for  a  considerable  time 
at  N^orfolk.  But  he  was  received  by  the  Con- 
ference ;  and  he  writes :  "I  am  now  a  member 
of  the  Virginia  Conference.  I  have  asked  for 
an  effective  relation.  What  a  fearful  duty, 
with  my  state  of  health !  But,  live  or  die,  I 
have  passed  the  resolution  to  work  in  the  cause." 


172  The  Price  of  Africa 

From  ISTewbern  Mr.  Cox  proceeded  at  once  to 
his  new  station  at  Raleigh.  The  ceaseless  strug- 
gle between  disease  and  the  heroic  will  of  this 
frail  man  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  his- 
tory. On  the  morning  after  his  first  sermon 
at  Kaleigh  he  felt  exhaustion  and  great  pain. 
Por  three  weeks  he  had  scarcely  conversed 
moderately  without  feeling  it;  but  his  soul 
mounted  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  and  in  his 
journal  he  writes :  "O  God,  increase  my  faith ! 
Commission  me  anew.  Anoint  me  afresh  for 
the  work  committed  to  my  charge.  O  let  my 
word  be  as  the  thunder's  voice,  though  uttered 
in  tones  scarcely  audible !  Give  energy  to  thy 
truth.  Let  thy  word,  though  spoken  by  a  worm 
of  earth,  be  as  a  hammer  to  break  in  pieces, 
and  as  a  fire  to  burn." 

His  eyes  now  failed  him,  as  well  as  his 
lungs,  and  reading  became  painful ;  but  after 
a  restless  night,  and  intense  pain  in  the  breast, 
the  journal  reads:  "O  my  God,  shake  terribly 
this  place !  O  breathe  over  its  inhabitants. 
Speak  with  that  voice  to  sinners  which  will 
awake  the  dead.  O  come,  come,  my  dear  Re- 
deemer ;  come  in  mercy  to  this  people,  and  save 
the  purchase  of  thy  blood !" 

At  the  end  of  four  weeks  in  the  active  min- 
istry he  records:  "Thought  it  better  to  stay  at 
home  this  evening  than  to  trust  myself  at  a 


Melville  B.  Cox  173 

prayer-meeting.  It  is  difficult  for  a  minister 
to  sit  and  say  nothing  through  a  whole  prayer- 
meeting  ;  and  my  lungs  are  too  feeble  for  exer- 
cise." 

During  all  this  struggle  his  soul  is  expand- 
ing. "I  feel  happier,  more  given  up  to  God, 
more  communion  with  Him,  more  confidence 
in  his  protection.  /  want  to  hiow  all  that  a 
man  can  know  of  God  and  live^ 

It  is  evident  from  his  journal  that  Mr.  Cox  The  Value  of  a 
clearly  understood  that  he  was  offering  him-  ^"''' 
self  a  living  sacrifice.  In  his  journal  he  says: 
"I  am  sure  that  the  soul  which  is  eternally  saved 
at  the  expense  of  a  human  life  costs  nothing, 
compared  with  its  real  value.  I  am  much  ex- 
hausted, I  fear  that  general  debility  will  soon 
unite  with  local.  Should  it,  why,  I  must  die. 
I  only  pray,  'Lord,  prepare  me  for  it!'  and  it 
is  of  the  least  consequence  when  I  meet  it." 

The  love  for  his  people  which  had  impelled  Resigns  His 
him  to  engage  in  the  active  ministry  soon  com-  ^^^^^ 
pelled  him  reluctantly  to  resign  the  charge  into 
other  hands.  He  became  so  weak  that  it  was 
clear  that  he  must  give  up  all  hope  for  effective 
service.  In  writing  to  a  friend,  he  says:  "I  am 
exceedingly  weak.  Do  not,  however,  be  anx- 
ious. I  believe  it  is  all  of  God.  I  never  felt 
less  painful  anxiety  about  myself  than  now. 
I  think,  however,  that  I  shall  yet  live,  but  I 


174  The  Price  of  Africa 

know  that  I  may  die.  I  still  have  to  lohisper 
if  I  talk  much,  but  I  wish  I  could  whisper  a 
week  with  you." 

He  was  reduced  at  this  period  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
he  succeeded  in  getting  to  Ilillsboro,  a  few 
miles,  with  the  aid  of  a  horse  and  carriage. 
Once,  indeed,  he  feared  that  the  roadside  would 
be  his  death-bed. 
His  Patience  An  His  patience  in  affliction  is  an  inspiration 
Inspiration  to  those  who  suffer.  He  says:  "O  that  this 
affliction  may  be  for  my  good !  May  I  see  the 
hand  of  God  in  it!  May  I  be  purified  in  it  as 
by  fire !  O  that  He  would  fit  me  for  his  king- 
dom !  Sure  I  am  that  it  is  a  loud  voice.  If 
pain  can  profit  the  soul,  I  ought  to  learn.  It 
is  now  six  years  since  I  was  taken  ill.  Since 
then  I  have  not  known  a  well  hour.  I  do  not 
think  the  tide  will  stand  much  longer  where  it 
is.  I  think  the  Lord  will  either  take  me  hence 
or  send  me  more  health.  His  will  be  done. 
Only  may  he  prepare  me  for  the  consequences." 
Wonderful  Mental  The  wonderful  mental  activity  of  the  man 
Activity  ^^  this  time  of  great  physical  weakness,  and 
his  courage  at  a  time  when  he  could  scarcely 
speak  a  word,  have  seldom  been  equaled.  At 
the  very  time  when  broken  by  the  trials  by 
which  God  was  fitting  him  for  his  great  self- 
sacrificing  service  in  Africa,  his  mind  was  alert 


Melville  B.  Cox  175 

with  the  most  far-reaching  plans.  He  says:  "I 
have  now  four  anchors  out,  and  I  hope  that 
some  of  them  will  hold  on.  In  view  of  my  in- 
ability to  preach,  my  mind  has  been  constantly 
inventing  something  by  which  I  might  support 
myself  without  being  burdensome  to  others. 
I  have  an  eye  to  the  editorship  of  a  paper  in 
Georgia  and  to  another  to  be  published  in  Rich- 
mond, provided  it  should  be  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Virginia  Conference ;  and  I  have 
made  some  inquiries  about  the  agency  for  the 
Colonization  Society;  also  a  mission  to  South 
America."  This  was,  as  he  expressed  it,  hav- 
ing "all  his  irons  in  the  fire  at  once,  including 
his  poker  and  tongs  with  the  rest." 

The  weaker  he  became,  the  more  brightly  Missionaries 
the  missionary  fires  burned.  He  soon  gave  up  ^^^^^^  *"  South 
the  hope  of  editorship.  He  says:  "I  long  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  those  who  have  never 
heard  it.  My  soul  burns  with  an  impassioned 
desire  to  hold  up  the  cross  of  Christ  on  mission- 
ary ground." 

After  a  careful  study  of  the  far-off  lands, 
he  writes:  "/  believe  that  the  time  has  come 
when  missionaries  should  he  sent  to  South 
America.  In  support  of  this  opinion  I  will  make 
the  following  suggestions:  (1)  I  think  that  the 
providence  of  God,  in  the  most  marked  manner, 
for  these  ten  years  past,  has  been  'preparing 


176  The  Price  of  Africa 

the  way  of  the  Lord'  among  this  people;  (2) 
there  is  now  among  the  South  Americans  the 
mightiest  struggle  of  intellectual  and  moral 
principle  that  they  have  ever  experienced; 
(3)  the  standing  which  the  Catholic  religion 
now  has  among  them  calls  loudly,  I  think,  for 
our  immediate  exertions;  (4)  the  unusually 
friendly  relations  which  now  subsist  between 
most  of  South  Americans  and  the  United 
States;  (5)  there  seems  to  have  been  a  simul- 
taneous impulse  felt  upon  this  subject  by  our 
brethren  from  the  ISTorth,  the  South,  the  East, 
and  the  West;  (6)  I  believe  that  there  is  a  re- 
sponsibility resting  on  American  Christians  to 
project  and  sustain  this  mission  that  rests  on 
no  other  Christians  in  Christendom." 

The  above  points  were  elaborated  by  the 
most  careful  arguments ;  and  it  is  well,  in  read- 
ing these  points,  to  remember  that  they  were 
written  in  the  year  1832,  before  the  Missionary 
Society  of  his  Church  had  even  thought  about 
the  advisability  of  establishing  a  mission  in 
South  America.  The  points,  with  slight  changes 
in  wording,  might  well  be  applied  to  the  con- 
dition of  South  America  to-day. 
A  Strange  Call  With  his  mind  filled  with  this  missionary 
project,  Mr.  Cox  determined  to  travel  from 
Raleigh   to   Georgia.     His   brother   says:    "It 


Melville  B.  Cox  177 

seems  to  have  been  with  almost  an  intention 
to  make  that  journey  a  test  of  his  ability  to 
go  further,  and,  if  he  found  himself  able,  to 
keep  on."  The  first  stages  of  the  journey  from 
Halifax  to  Petersboro  were  accomplished  with 
much  difficulty.  Mr.  Cox  says  that  he  was 
about  a  month  in  performing  a  journey  which 
formerly  he  could  have  accomplished  on  horse- 
back in  three  days. 

On  his  way  South  he  attended  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Conference  to  which  reference  was 
made  in  the  opening  paragraphs  of  this  chap- 
ter. Here  the  mission  at  Liberia  was  sug- 
gested to  him,  and  from  the  moment  of  this 
suggestion  the  project  seems  to  have  grown 
upon  his  affections  until  his  soul  burned  with 
a  desire  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Africa.  On 
Sunday,  May  6th,  the  following  entry  may  be 
found  in  his  journal :  "A  pleasant  morning. 
My  breast  feels  acutely  the  effort  of  yesterday 
to  converse  agreeably  with  a  few  friends.  Li- 
beria swallows  up  all  my  thoughts.  I  thirst 
for  the  commission  to  go."  The  next  day  he 
writes:  "The  episcopacy  has  concluded  to  send 
me  to  Liberia.  I  hail  it  as  the  most  joyful  ap- 
pointment from  them  that  I  ever  received. 
The  prospect  now  is  that,  feeble  as  I  am,  there 
I  may  be  useful  while  the  energy  of  life  re- 


for  Africa 


178  The  Price  of  Africa 

mains,  that  I  may  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live. 
A  grave  in  Africa  will  be  sweet  to  me  if  He  sus- 
tain me." 
Aa  Invalid  Sails  Qn  November  6,  1832,  be  set  sail  in  the 
ship  Jupiter,  after  an  affectionate  leave-taking 
with  his  mother,  his  sister,  his  brother,  and 
other  relatives  and  friends.  Upon  the  eve  of 
his  dej)arture  he  wrote  a  sentence  which  would 
make  a  good  motto  for  the  walls  of  any  young 
people's  society  that  is  endeavoring  to  extend 
the  Master's  kingdom:  "Prayers  are  better  for 
the  missionary  than  gold,  though  hoth  are  nec- 
essary ;  but  if  the  one  be  secured,  the  other  will 
follow  as  necessarily  as  the  effect  follows  the 
cause."  His  journal  shows  that  he  now  had 
time  for  calm  reflections.  He  says:  "Many 
dangers  have  presented  themselves  for  reflec- 
tion this  morning,  and  thought  has  suggested, 
as  it  frequently  has,  that  the  hope  of  life  in 
Africa  must  be  but  as  a  dream.  Perhaps  so. 
In  making  up  my  mind,  and  in  search  of  a  pas- 
sage to  go  out,  I  have  followed  the  best  light 
I  could  obtain.  I  now  leave  it  all  with  God. 
My  life,  my  soul,  my  all,  I  renewedly  resign 
to  him.  .  .  .  When  I  think  of  the  respon- 
sibility I  have  taken  upon  me,  where  I  am, 
and  where  I  am  going  to,  I  am  surprised. 
Something  beyond  nature,  it  does  seem  to  me, 
must  have  moved  my  heart  to  the  work,  and 


Melville  B.  Cox  179 

sustained  me  in  the  undertaking,  or  I  would  not 
be  where  I  am.     The  Lord  knoweth." 

On  ]^ovember  24th  he  writes:  "My  mind 
is  planning  for  the  good  of  my  mission.  A 
mission  house,  a  school,  and  a  farm  connected 
with  it,  and  finally  an  academy,  rise  up  in  per- 
spective before  me.  Hope  stops  not  here. 
Young  converts,  Churches,  circuits,  stations, 
and  Conferences,  I  trust,  will  yet  be  seen  in 
Liberia." 

One  morning,  early  in  March,  he  writes:  Liberia 
"  Half -past  three.  I  have  seen  Liberia,  and 
LIVE."  Friday,  March  8,  1833:  "Thank  God, 
I  am  now  at  Liberia."  March  10th:  "I  can 
scarcely  realize  that  I  have  attended  church  in 
Liberia,  and  heard  the  gospel  where  twelve 
years  since  were  heard  only  the  shouts  of  pa- 
gans, or  perhaps  the  infidel  prayers  of  the  Mus- 
sulman." March  12th:  "I  love  Liberia  more 
than  ever.  Should  gracious  God  spare  my  life, 
I  propose,  First,  to  establish  a  mission  at  Grand 
Bassa,  to  connect  with  it  a  school,  and  to  give 
the  care  of  both  into  the  hands  of  a  local  , 
preacher  who  has  just  arrived  from  Virginia. 
Second.  To  establish  the  'E'ew  York  Mission' 
at  Sego,  on  the  Niger.  Third.  I  want  to  es- 
tablish a  school  here  which  will  connect  it  with 
agriculture  and  art.  There  should  be  a  large 
farm.     This,  in  a  few  years,  would  support  the 


i8o  The  Price  of  Africa 

whole  school.  There  must  also  be  shoemakers, 
tanners,  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  etc.  Fourth. 
I  have  another  mission  in  my  mind,  either  for 
the  interior  or  at  Cape  Mount.  I  am  not  yet 
satisfied  which  is  the  better  place." 
Wort  of  Within  eight  days  of  the  time  of  his  ar- 
Evangelizatlon  ^.j^^i  ^^  Liberia  Mr.  Cox  gathered  together  the 
few  religious  emigrants  who  were  there,  and 
had  regularly  organized  a  Church  with  com- 
plete and  satisfactory  articles  of  agreement. 
He  spared  himself  but  little.  He  visited  and 
carefully  examined  every  person  connected  with 
the  religious  state  of  the  colony,  communi- 
cated with  profit  freely  with  many  of  his  breth- 
ren, set  in  motion  at  Caldwell  probably  the  first 
camp-meeting  that  was  ever  known  on  the  con- 
tinent, attended  to  special  appointments  of  fast- 
ing, thanksgiving,  and  prayer,  and  called  to- 
gether conferences  for  the  discussion  of  the 
business  of  the  mission.  Meanwhile  he  or- 
ganized a  vigorous  Sunday-school,  and  began 
himself  to  teach  a  school  of  seventy  children. 
The  Fever  About  a  month  after  his  arrival  he  felt  for 
the  first  time  the  African  fever,  and  it  almost 
immediately  struck  through  his  whole  system. 
During  his  sickness  he  wrote:  "Thy  Voice  I 
hear.  Thy  Voice  I  know,  and  Thy  Voice  I  will 
follow.    I  have  followed  thus  far,  and  It  has 


Melville  B.  Cox  i8i 

led  me  to  Liberia,  and  I  pray  that  I  may  fol- 
low It  to  the  end." 

For  twelve  days  the  fever  kept  him  in  bed, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  27th  that  he  was  able 
to  walk  a  few  steps  in  the  room.  May  1st  he 
writes :  "I  have  fears  that  a  relapse  of  my  fever 
is  approaching.  Last  evening  I  had  many 
sharp,  shooting  pains,  and  quite  a  fever 
through  the  night.  .  .  .  After  I  was  in 
bed,  I  sang  two  verses  of  that  sweet  old  spir- 
itual song: 

"  I  am  happy,  I  am  happy,  0  wondrous  account; 
My  days  are  immortal,  I  stand  on  the  mount." 

His  biographer  writes:  "Can  any  one  read 
the  above  and  reflect  upon  his  situation  with- 
out deep  emotions?  Tenderly  alive  to  the 
recollections  and  endearments  of  home,  .  . 
in  a  strange  land,  death  walking  around  his 
habitation  like  a  destroying  angel,  breathing  at 
every  moment  miasma  that  was  absorbing  life 
as  rapidly  as  the  exhalations  of  the  morning; 
from  necessity,  or  other  circumstance,  denied 
every  earthly  comfort;  none  to  counsel  with, 
none  to  give  food  or  drink,  or  render  any  other 
service,  however  slight;  and  with  a  view,  too, 
doubtless,  that  the  grave  was  opening  to  re- 
ceive  him;   and  yet,   amid  all  these   circum- 


182  The  Price  of  Africa 

stances,  his  soul  breaks  out,  as  by  an  unseen 
influence:  'I  am  happy!  I  am  happy!  My 
days  are  immortal.'  " 
All  for  the  Best  On  May  11th,  after  he  had  experienced 
chills  which  were  more  severe  than  he  had 
before  known,  he  writes:  "0  sweet,  sweet  has 
this  morning  been  to  my  soul.  Such  a  morn- 
ing I  have  not  seen  in  all  my  sickness  in  Africa. 
For  eight  years  past  God  has  chastened  with 
sickness  and  suffering,  but  this  morning  I  see 
and  feel  that  it  has  been  for  my  good."  At 
this  time  the  housekeeper  whom  he  had  hired 
became  ill,  and  her  little  boy  was  the  only  per- 
son with  him  to  make  him  a  cup  of  tea  or  to 
boil  his  rice.  The  rains  soaked  through  the 
roof  of  the  poor  mission  house  until,  as  he  ex- 
presses it,  "it  looked  as  if  dishpans  of  water 
had  been  poured  into  one  room."  The  house 
was  infested  with  vermin.  One  day,  in  reach- 
ing for  a  book  from  the  shelf,  he  started  a  scor- 
pion with  his  finger. 

The  vessel  HilarUij  was  about  to  sail  for 
America,  and  Mr.  Cox  writes:  "My  heart  some- 
times sighs  for  the  comforts  of  America.  It 
frequently  tells  me  I  had  better  return,  and 
has  even  suggested  the  thought  of  doing  it. 
But — I  dare  not  go." 

He  gives  three  reasons  for  not  leaving 
Africa  before  the  rainy  season  set  in:  "First, 


Melville  B.  Cox  183 

that  the  finger  of  Providence  did  not  seem  to 
point  that  way,  and  he  would  not  go  without 
it.  Second,  the  work  already  commenced 
needed  some  one  to  take  charge  of  it;  and  no 
one  could  do  this  but  himself  or  brethren  who 
had  not  arrived.  Third,  there  was  work  enough 
in  Africa  for  thousands  all  the  time,  and  not 
a  moment  was  to  be  lost  in  making  preparations 
for  such  labors. 

After  June  19th  the  records  in  his  journal 
grew  few  and  far  between.  On  Sunday,  the 
23d,  he  writes:  "My  poor  body  is  emaciated  to 
a  degree  never  before  known.  My  first  fever 
was  very  violent,  and  ten  or  twelve  days  long, 
and  reduced  me  very  much.  My  second,  which 
was  short,  but  no  less  violent,  helped  it  on ;  but 
my  third,  which  has  been  more  violent  and 
longer  than  either,  has  left  me  mere  skin  and 
bones ;  and  every  day  tells  me  the  chances  are 
against  me." 

The  last  entry  occurs  on  the  26th:  "It  is 
now  four  days  since  I  have  seen  a  physician. 
.  .  .  This  morning  I  feel  as  feeble  as  mor- 
tality can  well.    To  God  I  commit  all." 

Particulars  in  regard  to  the  closing  scene  "Come,  Lord 
of  his  life  were  conveyed  to  the  home  land  in  ''^^"^ 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Savage,  a  missionary.     At 
the  last  Cox  was  so  weak  that  he  was  unable 
to  be  understood,  except  in  monosyllables ;  but 


184  The  Price  of  Africa 

he  said,  after  much  exertion,  "I  am  not  afraid 
to  die."  Soon  after  he  appeared  engaged  in 
prayer,  and  then  he  articulated  several  times, 
"Come,  come."  After  each  word  "come"  a 
considerable  pause  ensued,  leaving  the  infer- 
ence that  he  repeated  the  sentence,  "Come, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 

A  beautiful  Italian  marble  shaft  about  eight 
feet  in  height  stands  not  far  from  the  seashore 
in  Monrovia,  Liberia.     It  bears  this  record: 


To  THE  Memory  op 

THE  REVEREND  MELVILLE  B.  COX, 

First  Missionary  From 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

In  the  L^nited  States  to  Liberia,  West  Africa, 

He  Arrived  in  Monrovia  on  the 

Ninth  of  March,  1833,  "Where,  having 

Organized  a  Branch  of  the  Same 

Church,  He  Died  in  the  Triumphs 

of  the  Christian  Faith, 

on  the  21st  op  July  op  the  Same  Year, 

Aged  33  Years. 

He  was  a  Truly  Able  Man, 

A  Devoted  Christian,  and  an 

Able  and  Successful  Minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 


rhe  Aftermath  The  life  of  Melville  B.  Cox  has  been  pre- 
sented in  this  volume,  not  because  of  any  won- 
derful work  which  was  directly  accomplished, 
but  because  of  the  unique  character  of  that 
life. 


Melville  B.  Cox  185 

To  the  thoughtful  mind  a  life  like  this 
gives  food  for  reflection.  Why  was  Cox,  an 
invalid,  called  upon  to  go  to  one  of  the  most 
deadly  climates  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  E"o 
reputable  missionary  society  in  the  world  would 
think  of  sending  such  a  man  to-day.  Why  did 
he  go  when  called?  He  was  no  novice.  He 
was  not  foolhardy.  He  counted  the  cost,  and 
was  willing  to  pay  the  price.  He  knew  the 
character  of  the  people  of  Liberia.  He  knew 
perfectly  well  the  hardship  in  store  for  him. 
He  was  forewarned  by  all  his  friends  that  he 
would  surely  find  a  grave  in  Africa.  Why  did 
he  go? 

Although  the  full  answer  will  never  be  re- 
corded in  this  world,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that 
he  was  called  of  God,  for  the  bright  example 
of  Christian  heroism,  the  steadfastness  of  his 
purpose,  and  his  triumphant  death  have  been 
worth  more  to  the  cause  of  Christian  missions 
than  a  lifetime  of  service  could  possibly  have 
been.  Moreover,  the  work  which  he  began  has 
not  been  a  failure. 

Dr.  A.  P.  Camphor,  president  of  the  Col- 
lege of  West  Africa,  at  Monrovia,  Liberia,  one 
of  the  black  men  who  are  giving  their  lives  for 
their  people  in  Liberia,  has  recently  written  the 
following : 

"Liberia  has  an  important  mission.  As  a 
12 


i86  The  Price  of  Africa 

Christian  republic,  controlled  bj  Xegroes,  it 
sustains  a  unique  relation  to  Africa.  This 
thought  entered  largely  into  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  founders  and  fathers  of  the  re- 
public. It  was  their  praver  and  hope  that  Li- 
beria, while  constituting  a  home  and  heritage, 
and  a  theater  of  unembarrassed  action  for  the 
people  of  color  in  the  United  States,  in  the 
darkest  period  of  their  history,  would  also,  in 
the  realization  of  its  purpose  and  mission,  be- 
come a  nucleus  from  which  Christian  civiliza- 
tion would  emanate  and  spread  in  all  directions, 
and  cause  all  Africa  to  rejoice  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  republic  within  its  borders. 

"After  a  national  life  of  fifty-four  years, 
with  struggles  and  obstacles  peculiar  to  its  po- 
sition and  work,  it  has  maintained  a  creditable 
existence,  considering  its  opportunities  and 
preparation  for  the  great  task  confronting  it. 
To-day  it  faces  the  new  century  with  an  awak- 
ened and  enlarged  sense  of  duty,  and  with  cour- 
age and  confidence  in  the  principles  for  which 
it  stands,  and  in  the  ultimate  success  of  its  God- 
appointed  work. 

"A  new  day  dawns  for  our  work  in  Liberia, 
and  an  era  of  cheering  promise  and  hope  opens 
with  the  new  century.  With  the  developments 
that  are  taking  place,  especially  on  the  west 
coast  of  Africa  within  recent  years — the  ad- 
vance in  political  and  commercial  enterprises, 


Melville  B.  Cox  187 

modern  agricultural  pursuits,  and  new  meth- 
ods of  business  and  life — activity  in  explora- 
tion, discovery,  and  travel,  and,  witti  tbese, 
scientific  efforts  at  solving  the  vexing  problems 
of  health  and  sanitation,  has  come  a  wonderful 
change  in  conditions,  which  is  gradually  and 
surely  transforming  the  old,  unhealthful,  and 
death-dealing  Africa  of  fifty  years  ago  to  a 
new  Africa,  capable  of  every  development, 
habitable,  and  more  inviting. 

"Sixty  years  ago,  when  Melville  B.  Cox, 
our  first  missionary,  went  to  Africa,  he  was 
dead  before  five  months  had  rolled  around. 
To-day  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to  find  mission- 
aries who  have  spent  fifteen,  twenty,  and 
twenty-five  years  of  active  and  successful  serv- 
ice in  Africa,  still  in  the  enjoyment  of  health. 
Then  it  took  six  months  to  receive  a  reply  to 
a  letter  sent  from  New  York  to  Monrovia ;  now 
answers  to  letters  thus  sent  are  received  inside 
of  nine  weeks.     Wonderful  changes ! 

"To-day  ocean  steamers,  with  every  modern 
improvement,  are  touching  almost  daily  the 
African  coast  from  Morocco  to  Cape  Town. 
Steam  launches  and  crafts  of  every  description 
ply  regularly  on  the  lakes  and  rivers.  Rail- 
roads, telegraphs,  and  telephones  are  being  con- 
structed, adding  to  the  convenience  of  business 
and  travel,  reducing  risks  and  elements  of  fail- 
ure to  a  minimum,  and  helping  to  make  mis- 


i88  The  Price  of  Africa 

sionary  labor  less  dangerous  and  discouraging. 
Liberia  is  gradually  responding  to  this  ad- 
vancement. The  Government  and  people  are 
improving  in  many  directions,  making  com- 
mendable efforts  to  keep  pace  with  the  onward 
march  of  progress,  all  of  which  are  giving  im- 
petus and  favor  to  Christian  work. 

"The  Liberia  Conference  is  steadily  grow- 
ing in  numbers  and  influence.  It  is  on  the 
upward  grade.  Signs  of  progress  are  manifest 
in  all  departments  of  its  work.  The  character 
and  personnel  of  this  body  are  gradually  meas- 
uring up  to  the  tone  and  dignity  of  a  regular 
Methodist  Conference.  With  the  broad  and 
aggressive  plans  of  Bishop  Hartzell,  adminis- 
tered wisely  and  with  statesman-like  ability, 
there  has  followed,  as  a  natural  and  necessary 
result,  a  profound  av/akening  of  interest,  which 
has  infused  new  life  and  blood  into  every  vein 
of  our  Liberian  Methodism,  and  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  entire  republic. 

"The  native  work,  as  carried  on  by  the 
Conference,  is  by  no  means  discouraging.  It 
is  growing  in  importance,  and  promises  much 
for  the  future.  At  all  the  Conference  sessions 
this  work  has  received  special  attention  and 
care.  I^ative  helpers  are  coming  more  and 
more  to  the  front,  and  are  faithful  and  loyal 
in  the  discharge  of  assigned  work  and  duty. 


Melville  B.  Cox  189 

"At  our  last  Conference  session  a  large 
number  of  native  helpers  were  present,  and  re- 
ported their  work.  The  following  tribes  were 
represented:  the  Bassa,  Mendi,  Golah,  Kroo, 
Pesseh,  and  Grebo.  A  praise  service  in  these 
several  native  tongues  and  in  English  v,as  held. 
"Come  to  Jesus"  and  other  familiar  hymns  were 
sung.  The  effect  of  this  mingling  of  voices 
and  languages  in  the  worship  of  God  was  won- 
derfully inspiring.  The  Holy  Spirit  graciously 
manifested  his  presence  and  power  among  all 
present.  The  outlook  for  our  native  work  was 
never  brighter.  The  natives  were  never  more 
eager  than  now  for  the  gospel.  They  are  on 
every  hand  making  loud  calls  for  Christian 
teachers  and  preachers  to  come  among  them. 
The  following  letter,  written  by  a  young  man 
of  the  Grebo  Tribe  for  the  king  and  chiefs  of 
Half  Cavalla,  an  important  section  of  Southern 
Liberia,  substantiates  this.  The  petition  is  a 
wailing  cry  from  heathenism  for  help  and  gos- 
pel light: 

"  ^Half  Cavalla,  Libeeia,  January,  1901. 
"  To  Bishop  Hartzell  and  Liberia  Methodist 

Conference,  to  meet  in  Clay  Ashland,  March 

5,1901: 

"  'We,  the  king  and  chiefs  of  Half  Cavalla, 
do  need  the  doctrine  of  yours  to  be  taught  to 


190  The  Price  of  Africa 

ourselves  and  children.  We  need  the  school  to 
be  opened  here,  and  also  the  church  to  be  built. 
Your  doctrine  is  always  being  heard  and  read 
by  our  children.  It  is  a  pure  and  powerful  way 
which  leads  to  the  road  of  eternal  life.  So  fail 
not  to  open  with  us.  We  can  not  stop  j^ou  from 
enlightening  our  native  country ;  no  one  to  stop 
you  from  doing  but  the  Government,  whom  we 
know  will  stop  nobody  from  doing  good. 

"  'We  are  tired  of  revolting ;  looking  to  God 
for  help.    Yours  truly, 

"  'King  Hne, 
"  'Chief  Dade, 
"  'Chief  Sebo, 
"  'Chief  Kodado-buo, 
"  'Chief  Mado  Boa, 
"  'Chief  Nano  Boa, 
"  'Chief  ]^ano  Grebo, 
"  'Chief  Blio  Kpada, 
"  'Chief  Tago  Gedee.'  " 

Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  What  was  Cox's  answer  to  the   friond  at  Wes- 

leyan  who  asked  him  what  epitaph  he  should 
write? 

2.  Hnd  auy  foreign  missions  been  estalilished  by  the 

Methodist  Epscopal  Church  in  1832? 

3.  In  what  year  was  the  question  of  the  Liberia  Mis- 

sion first  debated  in  General  Conference? 


Melville  B.  Cox  191 

4.  In  what  year  did  the  Board  of  Managers  announce 

that  money  was  ready  for  the  founding  of  the 
Liberia  Mission? 

5.  How  long  was  it  after  this  announcement  was 

made  until  the  first  missionary  was  sent  out? 
Why  this  delay? 

6.  How  was  the  first  missionary  found? 

7.  Where  and  in  what  year  was  Cos:  born?     How 

were  his  early  years  spent? 

8.  At  what  age  did  he  accept  Christ?     Tell  some- 

thing of  his  religious  experience  at  that  time. 

9.  What  was  his  preparation  for  the  ministry?  and 

where  and  in  what  year  did  he  preach  his  first 
sermon? 

10.  At  what  age  did  he  enter  the  regular  ministry? 

and  how  did  he  regard  his  life-worli? 

11.  Where  did  Cox  begin  his  regular  pastoral  work? 

12.  In  what  year  did  his  health  so  completely  fail  that 

he  was  compelled  to  go  South? 

13.  Where  and  when  did  Cox  marry?    What  was  the 

name  of  his  wife  before  her  marriage?  and  what 
of  her  character? 

14.  Why  did   Cox   call  the   year   1830   "a   moonless 

night?" 

15.  Tell  something  of  the  state  of  his  health  at  this 

time? 

16.  What  of  the  patience  and  courage  of  Cox  in  the 

face  of  all  his  difficulties? 

17.  Why  did  Cox  turn  his  mind  to  South  America? 

18.  What  reasons  did  he  give  in  supporting  his  opin- 

ion that  an  immediate  effort  should  be  made  to 
establish  a  mission  in  South  America? 

19.  What  seems  to  have  been  his  ijurpose  when  he 

started  to  go  from  Raleigh  to  Georgia? 

20.  In  what  year  did  Cox  sail  for  Africa? 


192  The  Price  of  Africa 

21.  Repeat  Cox's  sentence  concerning  the  missionary's 

need  of  prayer. 

22.  When  did  Cox  reach  Liberia?     How  long  did  he 

labor  there?  and  how  old  was  he  when  he  died? 

23.  Tell  something  of  the  worlc  accomplished  by  Cox 

during  his  brief  term  of  service  in  Liberia. 

24.  What  can  you  tell  of  the  last  hours  of  Cox? 

25.  What  of  the  present  opportunity  in  Liberia  as 

told  by  Dr.  Camphor? 

Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  Work. 

1.  Liberia— a  colony  for  freed  slaves.     Its  history. 

Africa  waiting,  61-63. 

2.  The    improvements    in    transportation    and    mail 

service  in  Africa  since  the  time  of  Cox.  Hist, 
of  Church  Miss.  Society,  II,  109-111,  328;  III, 
436,  737,  738. 

3.  The  physical  features  of  Liberia.     Africa  Wait- 

ing, 63. 

4.  The  relation  of  the  American  Negro  to  the  evan- 

gelization of  Africa.  Hist,  of  Church  Miss.  So- 
ciety, I,  337-348. 

5.  The  present  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Liberia 

Mission.  Africa  Waiting.  02.  History  of  Prot- 
estant Missions  (Warneck),  192,  193.  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  The  climate  of  Liberia. 

2.  Henry  Drummond  in  Africa.   (See  "Tropical  Af- 

rica," by  Drummond.) 

3.  The  influence  of  Cecil  Rhodes  upon  Africa. 

4.  The  diamond  and  gold  mines  of  Africa. 

5.  The  missions  in  Africa  which  have  been  started 

by  digging  a  grave. 


WHY  THIS  WASTE? 


"Except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  earth  aiid  die,  it  abideth 
by  itself  alone,  but  if  it  die,  it  beareth  much  fi-uit." — John    xlli  24. 

193 


c 


C 


Why   This   Waste? 


The  year  that  Queen  Victoria  ascended  the  First  Missionary 

Crave  i 
Africa 


throne  a  young  German  named  Ludwig  Krapf ,  ^^^^'^ '"  ^^^^ 
a  student  from  the  Missionary  Seminary  at 
Basle,  sailed  for  Africa.  For  seven  years  he 
endured  terrible  privation  in  Abyssinia  and  the 
neighboring  countries.  During  the  last  year, 
his  wife,  Eossina  Krapf,  accompanied  him,  and 
from  that  time  until  her  death  ^he  shrank  from 
no  hardship  or  danger  that  her  husband  was 
called  upon  to  face.  At  last  expelled  from 
Abyssinia,  Krapf  and  his  wife  were  compelled 
to  go  southward  along  the  coast.  After  a  peril- 
ous voyage  they  landed  at  Mombasa,  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  south  of  Zanzibar, 
and  settled  there.  Within  six  months  Krapf 
was  compelled  to  dig  two  graves,  and  there  in 
that  strange  land  he  laid  his  young  wife  and 
new-born  babe.^  Eugene  Stock  says  that  noth- 
ing more  touching  has  ever  been  written  than 

1  Report  of  the  London  Missionary  Conference,  1888,  page 
273. 

197 


198  The  Price  of  Africa 

his  diary  for  the  next  seven  days.  "His  heart 
and  his  body  wept,"  and  it  was  long  before  he 
could  speak  of  his  wife's  death  without  tears. 
Yet,  like  Livingstone,  the  bitterest  sorrow  could 
not  turn  him  aside.  He  wrote:  "Tell  our  friends 
at  home  that  there  is  now  on  the  East  African 
coast  a  lonely  missionary  grave.  This  is  a  sign 
that  you  have  commenced  the  struggle  with  this 
part  of  the  world;  and  as  the  victories  of  the 
Church  are  gained  by  stepping  over  the  graves 
of  her  members,  you  may  be  the  more  con- 
vinced that  the  hour  is  at  hand  when  you  are 
summoned  to  the  conversion  of  Africa  from  its 
Eastern  shore."  ^ 
A  Catalogue  of  The  missionary  life  of  Krapf  seemed  a  cata- 
Disappointments  logue  of  bitte:  disappointments.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  he  was  stricken  with  the  fever, 
and  was  in  such  bodily  weakness  that  he  feared 
he  might  not  recover.  He  says:  "I  prayed  fer- 
vently for  the  preservation  of  my  life  in  Africa, 
until  at  least  one  soul  should  be  saved ;  for  I  was 
certain  that  if  once  a  single  stone  were  laid  in 
any  country,  the  Lord  would  bless  the  work  and 
continue  the  structure."  ^ 

He  was  permitted  to  remain  in  the  region 
around  Mombasa  but  six  years.  His  life  at  that 
time  must  have  seemed  to  his  friends  to  have 


1  History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  Vol.1,  page  461. 
*  History    of    the    Church    Missionary  Society,   Vol.  II, 
page  125. 


Why  this  Waste?  199 

«eeii  an  utter  failure.  The  visible  reward  for 
seven  years  of  suffering  in  Abyssinia  and  six 
years  of  sorrow  around  Mombasa,  was  two 
lonely  graves,  a  shattered  constitution,  and  one 
convert — the  cripple,  Mringe. 

To  Krapf,  however,  the  one  convert  was 
worth  all  the  cost.  In  his  journal  he  wrote: 
"Mringe  was  with  me  during  the  night.  We 
discoursed  toward  midnight  about  the  world  to 
come  and  the  city  of  God.  .  .  .  My  poor  crip- 
ple devoured  the  words  as  they  fell  from  my 
lips,  and  I  saw  that  they  made  an  impression  on 
him,  and  felt  happy  indeed,  for  it  is  in  moments 
like  these  that  one  feels  the  importance  of  the 
missionary's  calling,  A  missionary  who  feels 
the  working  of  the  Spirit  within  him,  and  is 
upheld  in  its  manifestation  to  others,  is  the  hap- 
piest being  upon  earth.  In  his  sight  what  are 
royal  and  imperial  honors  compared  with  the 
office  of  a  preacher  in  the  bush  or  lonely  hut  ?"  ^ 

Krapf  remained  at  his  post  until  two  mis- 
sionaries had  been  sent  to  take  up  his  work,  but 
after  he  had  seen  them  thoroughly  established 
in  the  mission  he  returned  to  Europe. 

In  1856  a  huge  map  of  Africa  hung  on  the  The  Beginning  of 
walls  of  the  Eoyal  Geographical  Society  in  Lon-  Exploration 
don.    This  map  had  been  prepared  by  Rebmann 

» History    of    the    Church  Missionary   Society,  Vol.  II, 
page  126. 


200  The  Price  of  Africa 

and  Erhardt,  the  two  men  whom  Krapf  had  left 
in  Africa.  By  present-day  standards  the  map 
was  inaccurate,  showing  but  one  "colossal  inland 
sea  stretching  over  twelve  degrees  of  latitude," 
instead  of  three  great  lakes.  But  it  stirred  the 
geographical  world  to  its  depths.  As  a  result 
of  the  quickened  interest  in  that  region,  Bur- 
ton, Speke,  and  Grant  started  on  their  expe- 
ditions of  exploration.  Livingstone,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  discoverives,  came  up  from  South 
Africa  into  Central  Africa,  and  laid  down  his 
life  on  the  shores  of  one  of  the  great  lakes. 
Missionary  Work  In  1874  ^  a  telegram  was  received  by  the 
Begun  in  Earnest  London  papers.  It  read:  "Livingstone  is  really 
dead,  and  his  body  is  coming  home  in  one  of 
the  queen's  ships."  The  English-speaking 
world  was  thoroughly  aroused  by  this  message. 
A  new  and  deep  determination  took  hold  of  the 
people  to  abolish  the  slave-trade,  which  had  cost 
Livingstone  his  life,  and  to  extend  the  gospel 
to  the  farthest  part  of  Africa.  Before  Living- 
stone's death  there  were  but  a  few  small  mis- 
sions in  Africa,  and  these  were  inadequately 
manned.  Kow  great  missionary  societies  were 
formed,  or  those  already  organized  took  on  a 
new  life. 

The  Scottish  Churches  pre-empted  as  their 

» Although  Livingstone  died  May  1,  1878,  the  fact  of  his 
death  was  not  known  In  Fi^gland  until  the  beginning  of  1874, 
owing  to  the  inadequate  means  of  communication. 


Why  this  Waste?  201 

particular  field  the  region  around  Lake  ISTyassa, 
where  Livingstone's  heart  lay  buried. 

The  Free  Church  of  Scotland  wr.s  the  first  Free  Church 
to  move  in  the  endeavor  to  perpetuate  the  name  ''''"'*'" 
and  work  of  Livingstone.  It  dispatched  a  small 
steamship  named  Ilala,  which  sailed  up  the  Zam- 
bezi and  Shire  Rivers,  was  carried  past  the 
cataract  of  the  latter,  and  was  finally  launched 
on  Lake  ISTyassa.  The  great  mission  there  estab- 
lished was  named  Livingstonia.  The  Rev.  Alex- 
ander Hetherwick,  M.  A.,  one  of  the  mission- 
aries to  this  region,  said  in  an  address  at  Exeter 
Hall,  London:  "Our  mission,  like  so  many  of 
the  African  missions,  rose  out  of  the  grave  of 
Livingstone  in  Westminster  Abbey.  The  great 
company  of  mourners  separated  from  around 
that  tomb,  and  they  looked  about  them  for  a 
monument  to  erect  to  his  memory.  They  re- 
membered how  often  his  thoughts  had  turned 
to  Lake  ISTyassa  and  those  parts,  and  then  they 
remembered  how  he  had  longed  for  an  English 
mission  and  colony  to  be  planted  on  that  lake. 
They  said:  'Here  is  the  truest  monument  to 
erect  to  his  memory,  here  is  Scotland's  best 
monument.'  And  therefore  the  monument  of 
her  greatest  traveler  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
cities  of  this  land,  but  it  is  to  be  found  on  Lake 
l^yassa  and  the  Shire  Hills."  ^ 

>  Report    of  the    Missionary    Conference,    London,   1888. 
Page  288. 


202  The  Price  of  Africa 

Church  of  The  Established  Church  followed  the  Tree 
Scotland  Mission  Church  by  choosing  for  its  field  of  labor  the 
Shire  Hills,  where  Livingstone  bowed  in  deep 
sorrow  over  the  grave  of  his  wife.  They  named 
their  principal  station  Blantyre,  from  the  parish 
on  the  Clyde  where  Livingstone  was  born.-^ 

The  prompt  response  of  the  Scotch  to  the 
heroic  appeal  which  Livingstone  had  made  was 
quickly  followed  by  other  societies  in  England 
and  America. 
Uganda  Mission         Three  weeks  after  the  funeral  in  Westmin- 
of  the  Church  ^^^^  Abbey  the  anniversary  of  the  Church  Mis- 
Missionary     .  •".  1*1,.   1  m-  1 

Society  sionary  Society  occurred.  Archbishop  iait  and 
Bishop  E..  Bickersteth  in  their  addresses  before 
the  society  earnestly  urged  the  claims  of  East 
Africa,  and  the  latter  said  in  referring  to  Liv- 
ingstone :  "You  might  dedicate  to  his  memory  a 
costly  monument  of  sculptured  marble,  but  the 
noblest  monument  you  could  raise  is  a  special 
fund  for  the  evangelization  of  those  tribes  for 
whose  bodily  welfare  he  so  patiently  labored 
through  long  years  of  lonely  exile,  and  for 
whose  moral  regeneration  he  sacrificed  his 
life."  2 

One  of  the  anniversary  services  was  held 
in  the  Abbey,  with  a  part  of  the  congregation 

1  History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  79. 

•History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  78. 


Why  this  Waste?  203 

actually  seated  over  the  grave  of  Livingstone. 
Mr.  Gordon  Calthrop  preached  a  sermon,  using 
as  a  text  2  Kings  xiii,  21.  The  keynote  of  his 
address  was  that  the  death  of  Livingstone  had 
re-emphasized  the  claims  of  Africa  to  the  gos- 
pel, and  in  speaking  of  the  dead  body  that  lived 
when  it  touched  the  bones  of  Elisha,  he  said: 
"Let  us  be  quickened  with  fresh  life  by  contact 
with  the  bones  of  Livingstone ;  and  let  thou- 
sands of  Africans,  through  the  influence  of  his 
death,  ^be  revived  and  stand  on  their  feet.'  "  ^ 
These  meetings  prepared  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  for  Stanley's  memorable  challenge.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Stanley  was  so  im- 
pressed by  Livingstone  that  he  resolved  to  con- 
secrate his  life  to  the  continuation  of  Living- 
stone's work.  A  year  after  Livingstone's  death 
he  began  his  great  journey  of  exploration,  which 
in  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  days  of  hard- 
ship opened  up  the  Congo  Basin,  hitherto  abso- 
lutely unexplored  by  white  men,  thus  preparing 
the  way  for  the  chain  of  Congo  missions.  On 
this  journey  Stanley  staid  for  some  months 
with  King  Mtesa  of  Uganda,  and  in  1875  he 
wrote  his  appeal,  which  appeared  in  the  London 
Daily  Telegraph.  This  message  was  written  at 
the  request  of  King  Mtesa  of  Uganda,  and  was 


» History  of  the    Church  Missionary  Society,   Vol.  Ill, 
page  78. 

13 


204  The  Price  of  Africa 

a  challenge  to  the  Christians  of  England  to  send 
missionaries  to  Uganda.  The  letter  electrified 
England,  and  a  year  after  it  was  sent,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  sent  out  eight  mis- 
sionaries to  Uganda.^ 
Eight  Men  Sent  Of    these    eight,    the    leading    spirit    was 

to  Africa  Alexander  Mackay,  who,  on  a  May  day,  1874, 
while  a  student  in  Berlin,  had  written  in 
his  diary:  "This  day  last  year  Livingstone 
died — a  Scotchman  and  a  Christian,  loving  God 
and  his  neighbor  in  the  heart  of  Africa.  'Go 
thou  and  do  likewise.'  "  ^  At  the  farewell  meet- 
ing in  Salisbury  Square,  London,  after  the  hon- 
orary secretary  had  delivered  his  instructions 
to  five  of  the  eight  who  were  to  go  out,  each  of 
the  young  missionaries,  in  accordance  with  the 
usual  custom,  was  expected  to  reply.  Alex- 
ander Mackay,  the  youngest  of  the  five,  was 
called  upon  last.  He  said:  "There  is  one  thing 
which  my  brethren  have  not  said,  and  which  I 
want  to  say.  I  want  to  remind  the  committee 
that  within  six  months  they  will  probably  hear 
that  one  of  us  is  dead."  The  sentence  startled 
the  committee,  and  after  a  moment  of  silence 
which  might  be  felt,  Mackay  said:  "Yes,  is  it 
at  all  likely  that  eight  Englishmen  should  start 
for  Central  Africa  and  all  be  alive  six  months 


1  History  of  Protestant  Missions.     Warneck.    Page  228. 

2  Mackay  of  Uganda.    Pago  10. 


Why  this  Waste?  205 

after?  One  of  us  at  least — it  may  be  I — will 
surely  fall  before  that.  When  that  news  comes 
do  not  be  cast  down,  but  send  some  one  else  im- 
mediately to  take  the  vacant  place."  ^ 

In  1888  all  this  company  were  dead  or  in- 
valided except  Mackay  and  one  other,  who  was 
then  in  Palestine.     But  the  ringing  message  of 
Mackay  was  never  forgotten.     In  response  to 
Mackay's  appeals  for  help.  Bishop  Ilannington  Martyrdom  of 
started  to  re-enforce  the  mission.     When  the  ^'^''''P 
Church  Missionary  Society  approached  Bishop  "^""'"9"'" 
Ilannington  with  reference  to  his  appointment 
to  East  Africa,  he  said:  "I  feel  that  I  could  no 
more  say  IS^o,  than  did  Gordon  when  he  went  to 
Khartoum."     When  within  two  days'  march  of 
Mackay,   Hannington  was  brutally  murdered, 
and  his   dying  words  to  the  soldier  assassins 
were,  "I  have  purchased  the  road  to  Uganda 
with  my  life."    The  martyrdom  of  Bishop  Han- 
nington set  all  England  aflame.     His  memoir 
was   eagerly  read  by  thousands.      "The   Lord 
called  him  expressly  not  to  be  a  great  mission- 
ary, but  to  lay  down  his  life,  that  he  might  be 
an  inspiration  to  all  who  pray  and  work  for 
Africa."    Bishop  Parker  followed  Hannington,  Bishop  Parker 
and  he  had  hardly  reached  the  shores  of  Lake  Translated 
l^yanza  when  he  too  was  called  home.   The  good 

1  History  of  the   Church  Missionary  Society,   Vol.  Ill, 
page  98. 


2o6  The  Price  of  Africa 

bishop  was  buried  by  his  fellow  missionaries  the 
same  night  that  he  died.  A  storm  of  wind  and 
rain  was  raging  as  the  frail  body  was  lowered 
into  the  grave.  It  was  a  sad  initiation  for  the 
new  missionaries  who  had  accompanied  the 
bishop,  but  one  of  them  wrote:  "As  we  re- 
turned, the  dawn  was  visible  in  a  streak  of  crim- 
son and  gold  in  the  east,  assuring  us  that  though 
the  west  looked  dark  and  as  gloomy  as  our  path, 
yet  a  bright  future  was  in  store  for  us  as  the 
sun  rises."  ^ 
Mission  of  tlie         The    London    Missionary    Society    remem- 

'"odetv  ^^^^^  ^^^^  pride  the  fact  that  Livingstone  had 
been  one  of  its  own  missionaries,  and  chose  as 
its  field  of  labor  the  country  around  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika. The  point  of  departure  for  their  mis- 
sion was  to  be  Ujiji,  forever  memorable  as  the 
meeting  place  of  Stanley  and  Livingstone.'^ 

An  Ever-         Of  the  influences  that  have  been  coming 
Widening  Cirde  j^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^.^j^  sacrifices  of  Krapf  and 

Livingstone,  Mackay  and  Hannington,  Parker 
and  scores  of  others  who  in  this  brief  narrative 
have  not  been  mentioned,  only  the  incomplete 
outlines  will  ever  be  traced  until  that  great  day 
when  the  work  of  every  man  shall  be  revealed 
in  its  true  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  In 
regard  to  Livingstone  alone,  it  has  truthfully 

•History  of   the   Church  Missionary  Society,   Vol.  Ill, 
page  420. 

s  History  of  Protestant  Missions.   Warneck.    Page  281. 


Why  this  Waste?  207 

been  said:  "A  score  of  forward  movements  can 
be  directly  traced  to  the  discovery  of  that  kneel- 
ing body  at  Ilala."  ^  By  his  death  he  accom- 
plished more  than  even  his  life  had  done. 

Livingstone  stands  in  a  peculiar  relation  to 
the  redemption  of  Africa,  and  it  is  possible  to 
trace  with  some  degree  of  accuracy  the  prin- 
cipal lines  of  his  influence.  Would  that  one 
might  present  as  clearly  the  stories  of  the  life 
and  work  of  his  heroic  fellow  missionaries! 
Hundreds  of  men  and  women  have  served  God 
faithfully  in  the  Dark  Continent,  and  have  re- 
turned to  their  homes  to  die  a  peaceful  death. 
Hundreds  more  have  died  of  the  fever  and  other 
deadly  African  diseases.  Many  have  been  mar- 
tyred. Many,  many  more  are  now  on  the  field, 
living  and  laboring,  or  else  are  at  home  on 
much-needed  furloughs.  They  are  heroes  all, 
and  many  of  them  are  among  the  great  ones  of 
earth. 

The  last  chapter  of  the  story  has  not  been 
written,  nor  can  it  be  written  till  Africa  is  re- 
deemed. The  men  and  women  who  have  striven 
for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  that  continent 
have  not  yet  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  final 
results  of  their  soul  travail.  Yet  the  following 
present-day  facts  of  mission  progress  in  Africa 
glow  with  the  light  of  most  hopeful  promise,  as 

1  Modern  Mission  Century.    Page  383. 


2o8  The  Price  of  Africa 

compared  with  the  seemingly  hopeless  condi- 
tions of  the  time  of  Livingstone  and  Krapf. 
The  Continent  The  explorations  of  Stanley  and  others  who 
were  called  forth  by  the  heroic  lives  of  the  mis- 
sionaries have  laid  open  the  continent  from  end 
to  end.  The  hammock  borne  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  black  man  is  being  rapidly  replaced  by 
well-equipped  railroad  trains.  The  total  mile- 
age of  track  now  laid  is  12,643.^  The  railroads 
and  steamships  which  are  being  built  to  foster 
great  commercial  and  mining  interests  assure  us 
that  South  Africa  will  within  the  coming  years 
be  a  new  America. 
Linguistic  Languages  have  been  reduced  to  written 
Triumphs  fQpjjj^  ^nd  in  some  instances  written  languages 
have  been  literally  created  by  the  missionaries. 
Dr.  Cust,  author  of  "The  Languages  of  Africa," 
says :  "Let  me  turn  away  from  the  subject  of 
language  and  say  one  farewell  word  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, .  .  .  who,  as  it  were,  in  the  course  of 
their  striking  hard  on  the  anvil  of  evangeliza- 
tion, their  own  proper  work,  have  emitted 
bright  sparks  of  linguistic  light,  which  have  ren- 
dered luminous  a  region  previously  shrouded  in 
darkness,  and  their  sparks  have  kindled  a  cor- 
responding feeling  of  warmth  in  the  hearts  of 
the  great,   and  to   them  personally  unknown, 

1  United  States  Consular  Reports,  1901. 


Why  this  Waste?  209 

scholars,  working  in  their  studies  in  Vienna,  or 
Berlin,  or  some  great  German  university, 
scholars  who,  alas !  cared  little  for  the  object 
of  the  missionaries'  going  forth,  but  rejoice  ex- 
ceedingly at  the  wonderful,  unexpected,  epoch- 
making  results  of  their  quiet  labors."  ^  The 
patient,  thorough  work  of  the  missionaries  in 
reducing  the  native  languages  to  written  form 
have  made  possible  the  translation  of  the  Bible 
into  the  chief  languages  and  dialects  of  Africa, 
and  have  thus  enabled  the  missionaries  to  sow 
the  seed  broadcast  over  the  continent. 

The  slave-trade  has  been  outlawed,  and  has  The  Slave-Trade 
been  practically  abolished.     On  the  very  spot  Pf^cUcally 
where  the  Zanzibar  slave  market  stood  is  the 
cathedral  of  the  University  Mission,  and  the 
communion  table  is  over  the  very  spot  where 
once  stood  the  old  whipping-post.'^ 

The  chain  of  events  which  we  have  been 
following  may  be  welded  into  a  circle  by  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  story: 

On  the  15th  day  of  November,  1874,  Mr. 
Salter  Price  and  wife  reached  Mombasa,  the 
scene  of  the  early  labors  of  Ludwig  Krapf. 
They  had  been  commissioned  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  to  found  an  industrial  school 

1  Modern  Missions,  their  Evidential  Value.    Page  221. 
"Hidtory  of   the    Church   Missionary   Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  77. 


2IO  The  Price  of  Africa 

Industrial  School   for  liberated  slaves  at  Mombasa.     They  found 
^'     "^  John    Rebmann,    Krapf's    companion,    totally 

blind,  living  in  a  miserable  hut  with  a  little  com- 
pany of  Christians — about  a  dozen  in  all — 
around  him.  For  twenty-nine  years  "Old  Reb- 
mann,"  as  he  was  called,  had  remained  in  Af- 
rica, refusing  to  go  home,  even  on  a  furlough, 
until  some  one  should  be  sent  to  take  his  place. 
The  mission  at  Mombasa  seemed  such  a 
hopeless  undertaking,  that  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  did  not  think  it  wise  to  send  re- 
enforcements.  It  was  considered  so  much  of  a 
failure  that  it  had  actually  dropped  out  of  the 
reports  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 

But  John  Rebmann,  blind  though  he  was, 
never  lost  faith  in  the  enterprise.  He  was  but 
fifty-five  years  of  age  when  Mr.  Price  found 
him,  but  the  fevers  and  the  sufferings  of  Africa 
had  made  him  prematurely  old  and  feeble. 
When  re-enforcements  came,  at  last,  though 
very  reluctantly,  the  blind  old  veteran  consented 
to  turn  the  care  of  his  little  band  of  believers 
over  to  the  younger  missionaries.  In  his  life- 
long battle  with  heathendom  he  had  been  able 
to  keep  together  a  little  company  of  Christians 
whose  number  equaled  the  twelve  of  his  Master, 
and  John  Rebmann  was  content.  Mr.  Price 
began  his  work  at  Mombasa  by  purchasing  a 
tract  of  land  for  his  school.     The  site  was  near 


Why  this  Waste  ?  211 

the  grave  of  Bossina  Erapf,  the  first  Christian 
grave  in  East  Africa} 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  but  begin-  The  Missionary 
ning  to  put  forth  her  might  for  the  redemption  ^^^  ** 
of  Africa,  but  already  the  work  being  carried  on 
in  that  Dark  Continent  should  silence  any 
doubting  Thomas  who  objects  to  further  invest- 
ment of  life  and  treasure.  N^ow  nearly  a  hun- 
dred Protestant  missionary  societies  are  center- 
ing the  prayers  of  Christendom  upon  that  conti- 
nent. ^  Three  hundred  and  forty-seven  foreign 
missionaries  labor  there,  and  they  are  assisted 
by  4,507  ordained  and  unordained  native  help- 
ers. There  are  2,712  churches,  stations,  and 
substations,  with  132,280  communicants.  There 
are  326  Sunday-schools,  with  a  membership  of 
26,988.  During  the  year  preceding  the  issue  of 
Dr.  Dennis's  statistics  there  were  nearly  4,000 
conversions.  Eight  colleges  enroll  2,131  stu- 
dents. Fifty-five  theological  and  training  schools 
are  equipping  2,114  workers  for  service.  In  ad- 
dition, there  are  78  boarding  and  high  schools, 
with  9,326  scholars,  and  56  industrial  training 
schools  and  classes,  with  2,328  students  en- 
rolled. There  are  also  two  medical  and  nurses' 
schools,  and  seven  kindergartens.     The  Bible 

» History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  85. 

*  Geography  and  Atlas  ol  Protestant  Missions,  Vol.  I, 
page  454. 

14 


212  The  Price  of  Africa 

has  been  translated  into  112  languages  and  dia- 
lects. Thirty  publishing-houses  and  printing- 
presses  are  pouring  forth  annually  3,811,931 
pages  of  Christian  literature.  There  are  three 
missionary  papers  or  magazines,  65  hospitals 
and  149  dispensaries  where  nearly  half  a  mil- 
lion patients  are  treated  annually.  There 
are  fifteen  orphanages,  six  leper  hospitals  and 
asylums,  and  a  school  for  the  blind.  In  Living- 
stone's day  but  one  small  boat,  carried  on  the 
backs  of  men,  was  in  use  by  the  missionaries. 
Now  twenty-four  missionary  steamers  and  ships 
ply  African  waters.-^ 
Silent  and  Inseen  There  are  many  indications  that  these  sta- 
forces  ^istics  ^^.g  j^^^  surface  signs.  Deeper  than  all  is 
the  constant,  silent  working  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
through  His  messengers,  who,  like  the  early 
Christians,  are  going  everywhere  to  preach  the 
Word.  At  the  Centenary  Conference  of  Prot- 
estant Missions  of  the  World,  1888,  one  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  helpers  from  West 
Africa  reported  that  his  society  had  just  estab- 
lished a  mission  at  a  village,  with  a  congrega- 
tion of  over  twenty  Christian  converts  who  had 
been  gathered  out  of  heathendom  by  a  native. 
This  native  had  been  converted  at  another  sta- 
tion, and  had  quietly  returned  to  his  own  vil- 

1  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  Report,  IWX).    Pages 
424-438. 


Why  this  Waste?  213 

lage  to  become  a  missionary  to  his  own  people. 
He  died,  and  later  a  visit  was  made  to  the  king 
of  his  tribe  by  two  of  the  native  workers  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society.  One  who  had  been 
there  once  before  asked  the  king  if  he  remem- 
bered what  had  been  said  to  him  about  prayer. 
Falling  upon  his  knees  the  king  devoutly  re- 
peated a  prayer  which  he  had  composed  for  him- 
self and  had  been  in  the  habit  of  using.  The 
prayer  was  as  follows:  "O  God,  King  of  kings, 
who  setteth  up  one  and  humbleth  another,  hear 
me  and  forgive  me  my  sins.  I  am  not  wise. 
Give  me  wisdom,  and  order  my  footsteps  in  this 
world.  There  are  those  in  the  royal  family  who 
are  older  and  wiser  and  better,  but  me  Thou 
seest  fit  to  put  in  the  room  of  my  father.  Leave 
me  not  alone  to  rule  this  town.  Do  Thou  send 
peace  and  concord  in  my  days,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
sake." 

Miss  Agnes  McAllister,  the  author  of  "A 
Lone  Woman  in  Africa,"  tells  of  a  striking  in- 
cident of  similar  character.  She  had  been  sent 
to  the  farthest  inland  station  of  her  mission  to 
bring  back  a  missionary  and  his  wife,  who  were 
ill.  Word  had  been  sent  the  king  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  meet  himself  and  his  chiefs  for 
a  palaver.  When  they  were  assembled  the  mis- 
sionary stated  that  he  and  his  wife  had  come 
to  tell  them  that  they  must  leave  the  station,  as 


214  The  Price  of  Africa 

they  had  been  sick  most  of  the  year  and  were 
not  able  to  stay.  The  king  arose,  and  looking 
at  Miss  McAllister  said:  "I  see  that  these  teach- 
ers are  sick,  and  I  know  that  their  house  is  not 
fit  to  live  in,  and  we  are  willing  for  these  people 
to  go  for  a  change  and  a  rest,  but  Ave  are  not 
willing  for  them  to  go  until  you  first  bring  other 
missionaries.  You  go  and  bring  us  other  white 
people,  then  you  can  take  them  away."  As  the 
king  sat  down,  the  people  all  looked  to  Miss 
McAllister  for  a  reply.  After  a  silent  prayer 
for  words  with  which  to  answer  the  king,  she 
arose  and  said:  "King,  I  hear  what  you  have 
said.  You  see  that  these  people  are  not  well, 
and  they  must  leave  you ;  but  although  they  go, 
you  shall  not  be  left  alone.  You  remember  j\Ir. 
Garwood  was  the  first  missionary  sent  to  you. 
He  came  and  worked  for  you  and  taught  your 
people,  and  read  the  Bible  to  you  and  cared  for 
your  sick.  After  a  while  he  went  to  America, 
and  was  married.  He  came  back  and  brought 
his  wife,  and  they  were  your  teachers  and  did 
all  they  could  to  teach  you  God-way.  One  day 
he  was  suddenly  drowned.  Your  people 
watched  the  river  three  days  and  three  nights 
until  you  found  his  body.  You  took  it  out  of 
the  water,  and  buried  it  up  here  on  Mission 
Hill,  where  it  now  lies.  E'ow  Mr.  Garwood  is 
your  missionary,  and  we  are  not  going  to  take 


Why  this  Waste?  215 

him  away.  "We  will  leave  him  with  you."  The 
king  and  his  chiefs  were  startled,  but  Miss  Mc- 
Allister continued:  "Yes,  when  Jesus  comes  to 
raise  us  all  out  of  the  ground,  Garwood  will  go 
up  with  you,  and  you  won't  be  able  to  look  in 
Jesus'  face  and  say,  'We  never  heard  about 
you,'  for  Jesus  will  see  Brother  Garwood  is 
here,  and  He  will  know  he  told  you.  ]^ow  we 
are  sorry  we  have  not  some  one  else  to  leave 
with  you.  But  if  a  new  teacher  came,  he  would 
read  the  same  book  Garwood  read,  would  sing 
the  same  hymns,  and  say  the  same  prayers. 
'Now,  you  do  what  Garwood  taught  you  while 
he  was  here."  As  she  sat  down  the  king  arose 
and  said;  "Teacher,  you  talk  true.  Garwood  is 
our  teacher,  and  we  are  going  to  do  what  he 
said,  but  can't  we  have  a  living  teacher  too  ?" 

Although  this  circumstance  occurred  four 
years  ago,  Garwood  is  alone,  for  no  living 
teacher  has  ever  been  sent,  but  the  people  do 
not  forget  the  words  which  he  spake.  They  tell 
them  to  their  children,  they  repeat  them  to 
strangers,  and  point  to  the  mission  hill,  and  say, 
"Yonder  on  that  hill  our  teacher  is  sleeping." 

Thus  in  ways  unseen  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
working  in  Africa.  The  Word  is  eternal,  and 
the  truth  will  never  die.  In  ways  which  are 
hard  to  understand  it  may  be  that  many,  many 
more  will  be  called  upon  to  lay  down  their  lives 


2i6  The  Price  of  Africa 

for  the  brethren.  But  those  who  are  gone  will 
not  in  the  great  day  be  forgotten,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  many  a  missionary  has  done  his  best 
work  after  his  body  has  been  laid  to  rest  among 
the  tribes  for  whom  he  labored. 
What  of  the  When  will  the  end  be  ?  Is  it  a  hopeless  task 
Prospect  ^Q  evangelize  Africa  ?  Is  it  worth  the  price  ? 
Why  this  waste? 

The  Berlin  Congress  of  1884-5  virtually  di- 
vided Africa  into  "Spheres  of  Influence,"  giv- 
ing to  each  power  the  privilege  of  developing  its 
own  sphere  in  any  way  it  chose,  so  that  it  did 
not  encroach  upon  the  sphere  of  another  power. 
The  high-handed  proceedings  of  the  officers  of 
the  various  powers  so  incensed  the  natives  that 
the  position  of  the  missionaries  was  rendered 
perilous  in  the  extreme.  In  1889  the  trouble 
was  at  its  height,  and  at  the  May  meeting  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  the  report  stated 
that  the  "prospects"  were  "very  dark."  Mr. 
Salter  Price,  who  had  the  honor  of  reviving 
Krapf 's  work  at  Mombasa,  said :  "No,  the  aspect 
is  dark,  but  the  prospects  are  as  bright  as  the 
promises  of  God  can  make  them."  ^ 

It  will  be  well  if  the  generation  of  young 
people  now  growing  up  in  times  of  peace  and 
prosperity,  who  have  never  known  hardship,  and 


1  History   of    the   Church    Missionary  Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  420. 


Why  this  Waste?  215^ 

who  therefore  are  inclined  to  walk  in  those 

paths  which  seem  most  inviting,  can  learn  from 

the  lives  of  these  modern  apostles  of  the  faith 

the  lesson  of  heroism.     If  the  world  is  to  be 

evangelized  in  our  generation,  or  in  any  other, 

the  task  will  be  accomplished  by  men  of  God 

who  therefore  are  men  of  heroic  mold.    If  there 

ever  was  a  time  when  God  seemed  to  be  calling 

the  Church  to  go  forward,  that  time  is  now. 

If  any  are  prone  to  hesitate  for  fear  of  lack  Shall  African 

of  men  or  of  money,  let  them  read  the  last  mes-  "'"'""^ }' 
1        .  •    •  A 1  J      Abandoned  ? 

sages    of    that    heroic    missionary,    Alexander 

Mackay.  After  Bishop  Parker's  death  many 
voices  were  raised  in  England  against  the  policy 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  continuing 
to  send  workers  to  the  N^yanza  Mission.  The 
fact  that  so  many  had  died,  the  insolence  and 
tyranny  of  the  native  king,  and  the  bitter  an- 
tagonism of  the  slave-dealers,  were  to  many  in- 
dications that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  the 
mission  should  be  abandoned.  The  suggestion 
came  to  Mackay  at  a  time  when  he  was  quite 
alone,  and  when  the  memory  of  the  death  of 
Bishop  Parker  was  vivid  in  his  mind.  His  an- 
swer, written  in  the  earnestness  of  a  man  who 
as  a  final  argument  was  about  to  lay  down  his 
life,  is  as  follows:  "Are  you  joking ?  If  you  tell 
me  in  earnest  that  such  a  suggestion  has  been 
made,  I  can  only  answer,  !N"evee.    Tell  me,  ye 


2i8  The  Price  of  Africa 

faint  hearts,  to  whom  ye  mean  to  give  up  the 
mission.  Is  it  to  murderous  raiders  like 
Mwanga,  or  to  slave-traders  from  Zanzibar,  or 
to  English  and  Belgian  dealers  in  rifles  and  gun- 
powder, or  to  German  spirit  sellers  ?  All  are  in 
the  field,  and  they  make  no  talk  of  ^giving  up' 
their  respective  missions."  ^  A  little  later,  to 
the  faint-hearted,  Mackay  sent  another  message : 
"Please  do  not  reply  to  my  statement  of  our 
requirement  as  to  men  and  a  bishop  with  the 
word  Impossible,  That  word  is  unknown  in 
engineers'  vocabulary.  Surely,  then,  if  those 
who  build  only  temporary  structures,  because 
their  materials  are  perishable,  have  expurgated 
the  word  from  their  vocabulary,  how  can  it  at 
all  remain  in  the  vocabulary  of  those  who  are 
engaged  in  building  the  Church  of  God  and  lay- 
ing the  foundation  of  that  kingdom  which  shall 
endure  forever  ?"  ^ 
Our  lord's  One  day,  not  long  before  our  Lord  went 
away,  lie  called  His  disciples  apart  to  a  moun- 
tain in  Galilee,  to  announce  the  plan  of  cam- 
paign for  the  extension  of  His  kingdom.  It  was 
a  very  small  company.  Matthew  says  there 
were  but  eleven.  When  the  Lord  saw  the  little 
band  and  remembered  how  they  had  left  Him 

1  History  of   the  Church   Missionary   Society,  Vol.  Ill, 
page  420. 


Command 


Why  this  Waste  ?  219 

in  the  days  of  His  suffering,  one  might  expect 
Him  to  instruct  them  to  remain  together  in  Je- 
rusalem, that  they  might  strengthen  one  another 
in  the  faith,  and  finally  build  up  a  strong  center 
from  which  the  surrounding  country  might  be 
evangelized. 

Humanly  speaking,  the  last  thing  He  would 
be  expected  to  do  would  be  to  send  them  out  to 
die  one  by  one  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
But  the  Master,  as  He  looked  down  through  the 
centuries,  knew  the  need  of  the  Church,  and  He 
knew  also  the  dynamic  power  of  His  Gospel, 
and  He  scattered  the  little  company  like  sheep, 
in  the  midst  of  wolves.  His  last  command  to 
them  was,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 

The  apostles  understood  Him  to  mean  ex-  Examples  of  the 
actly  what  He  said.  They  were  absolutely  in-  ^Po^*'" 
different  to  life  or  death',  except  in  so  far  as 
either  affected  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Arrayed  against  them  was  the  ecclesias- 
tical authority,  the  wealth,  and  the  political 
power  of  the  world.  Bitter  prosecution  was  in- 
evitable, and  it  is  probable  that  all  but  one  of 
the  eleven  died  a  martyr's  death.  So  completely 
were  the  outward  signs  of  the  early  Church  ob- 
literated that  Diocletian  felt  justified  in  strik- 
ing off  a  medal  bearing  this  inscription:  "Dio- 


220  The  Price  of  Africa 

cletian  has  everywhere  abolished  the  super- 
stition of  Christ,  the  name  of  Christ  being  by 
him  extinguished."  * 

But  in  spite  of  persecution  and  apparent  fail- 
ure, the  kingdom  expanded  with  a  rapidity 
which  astonished  even  those  Christians  who 
were  strongest  in  the  faith. 
A  Martyr  and  a  I^ot  long  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  a  young 
New  Apostle  j^a^  witnessed  the  death  of  another  young  man 
who  was  giving  his  life  for  his  faith.  He  saw 
the  young  martyr  pray  for  his  enemies.  He 
noted  that  the  face  of  the  martyr  shone  as  if  it 
had  been  the  face  of  an  angel,  when  he  looked 
up  into  heaven  and  saw  the  glory  of  God.  He 
beheld  the  young  man  fall  asleep  under  the 
shower  of  stones,  rejoicing  in  the  privilege  of 
making  the  sacrifice  for  his  Lord. 

The  young  man  at  whose  feet  the  witnesses 
had  laid  down  their  clothes  while  they  stoned 
Stephen,  went  away  with  a  new  light  dawning 
in  his  heart,  and  one  day  when  he  was  old  he 
was  led  out  beyond  the  gates  of  the  imperial 
city  of  Rome  himself  to  die  the  triumphant 
death  of  a  martyr.  The  Christian  Church,  by 
the  death  of  Stephen,  was  baptized  once  for  all 
in  that  blood  which  has  been  the  seed  of  the 
Church.  Many  a  time  during  the  storms  of  per- 
secution in  the  early  days  Christians  must  have 

1  The  Noble  Army  of  Martyrs.    Page  14. 


Why  this  Waste?  221 

read  with  a  new  meaning  the  words  of  the  Lord: 
"Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  to  the 
earth.  I  am  come  not  to  send  peace,  but  a 
sword.  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her 
mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  her 
mother-in-law.  And  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they 
of  his  own  household.  He  that  loveth  father 
or  mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me. 
And  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than 
Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me.  And  he  that  taketh 
not  his  cross  and  followeth  after  Me  is  not 
worthy  of  Me.  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall 
lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  My  sake 
shall  find  it."     (Matt,  x,  34-39.) 

The  martyr  spirit  was  pre-eminently  the  The  Spirit  of  ttie 
spirit  of  the  early  Church.  By  it  Peter  was  Ear'y  Church 
transformed  from  a  craven  in  the  palace  to 
Peter  the  rock  of  Pentecost.  By  it  St.  Paul 
went  bound  of  the  Spirit  to  go  to  Jerusalem, 
not  knowing  the  things  that  should  befall  him 
there,  but  very  certain  that  bonds  and  afflictions 
were  awaiting  him.  But  he  said:  "ISTone  of 
these  things  move  me.  ^Neither  count  I  my  life 
dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my 
course  with  joy."  It  was  this  spirit  which  near 
the  end  of  his  life  caused  him  to  write  in  his 
last  Epistle :  "For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
ind  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.     I 


222  The  Price  of  Africa 

have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my 
course.  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord  the  righteous  judge  shall  give 
me  at  that  day.  And  not  to  me  only,  but  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  His  appearing." 
The  Noble  Army  "Since  that  time,  in  the  noble  army  of  mar- 
of  Martyrs  tyrs  .  .  .  there  have  been  men  whose  inesti- 
mable privilege  it  has  been  to  follow  both  in 
life  and  death,  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostle 
Paul.  Eaymond  Lull,  Coleridge  Patteson,  John 
Williams,  and  James  Hannington  are  but  a  few, 
who,  having  served  well  here,  have  now  entered 
into  rest  more  than  conquerors."^ 

"And  these  all,  having  obtained  a  good  re- 
port through  faith,  received  not  the  promise: 
God  having  provided  some  better  thing  for  us, 
that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made  perfect. 

"Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  compassed 
about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us 
lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth 
so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience 
the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto 
Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith, 
who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  en- 
dured the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 
(Heb.  xi,  39,  40 ;  and  xii,  1,  2.) 

» Robert  E.Speer. 


Why  this  Waste  ?  223 


Questions  for  the  Class  Hour. 

1.  Who  was  Ludwig  Krapf? 

2.  Where  was  the  first  missionary  grave  in  East  Af- 

rica located?    Find  the  place  on  the  map. 

3.  Tell  something  of  the  disappointments  of  Krapf's 

life. 

4.  What  was  the  visible  reward  for  his  labors? 

5.  Tell  of  the  influence  of  the  map  drawn  by  Reb- 

mann  and  Erhardt. 

6.  What  telegram  stirred  the  Church  to  greater  mis- 

sionary effort? 

7.  What  societies  established  missions  in  East  Africa 

as  a  result  of  Livingstone's  death? 

8.  Give  the  substance  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Hether- 

wick's  remarlis. 

9.  Tell  of  the  organization  of  the  Uganda  Mission  of 

the  Church  Missionary  Society. 

10.  What  was  Maclsay's  message  at  the  farewell  meet- 

ing in  Salisbury  Square? 

11.  How  many  of  the  eight  men  who  went  to  Uganda 

in  response  to  Stanley's  appeal  were  effective  in 
1888? 

12.  What   was   Bishop   Hannington's   answer   when 

aslied  if  he  would  go  to  Africa? 

13.  What  has  been  accomplished  in  African  explora- 

tion since  Livingstone's  death? 

14.  What  does  Dr.  Cust  say  concerning  the  linguistic 

triumphs  of  the  missionaries? 

15.  What  is  the  present  condition  of  the  African  slave- 

trade? 

16.  Relate  the  story  of  John  Rebmann. 

17.  What  missionary  forces  are  now  at  work  in  Af- 

rica? 


224  The  Price  of  Africa 

18.  What  potent  forces  are  at  work  which  are  never 

reported  in  statistical  tables? 

19.  Tell  in  your  own  words  the  story  as  related  by 

Miss  McAllister. 

20.  Repeat  Mr.  Salter  Price's  sentence  regarding  the 

prospects  in  Africa. 

21.  What  was  Mackay's  answer  to  those  who  thought 

the  mission  should  be  abandoned? 

22.  What  of  our  Lord's  last  command? 

23.  What  of  the  examples  of  the  apostles? 

24.  What  was  the  spirit  of  the  early  Church? 

25.  Seeing  that  we  are  encompassed  about  by  so  great 

a  cloud  of  witnesses,  what  is  our  imperative 
duty? 

Topics  for  Assignment  in  Class  Work. 

1.  Ludwig  Krapf.    Hist.  Protestant  Missions,  90,  91, 

211,  225,  239.  Hist,  of  Church  Miss.  Society,  I, 
228,  353,  375,  458,  460-462;  II,  17,  48,  71,  434; 
III,  80,  84,  93,  102,  112,  409,  498,  689,  801. 

2.  Geography  of  Africa  in  1856.     History  of  Church 

Miss.  Society,  II,  127  (see  also  Index  for  Reb- 
mann). 

3.  The  influence  of  Krapf,   Livingstone,   and   other 

missionary  explorers  upon  the  geographical  dis- 
coveries of  Africa.  History  of  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  (see  Index  for  Krapf,  Livingstone, 
Stanley,  etc.). 

4.  The  influence  of  Livingstone  upon  African  mis- 

sions.    Hist.  Protestant  Missions,  226,  227. 

5.  Stanley's  challenge  to  the  Churches,  and  its  far- 

reaching  result.    Hist.  Protestant  Missions,  201. 


Why  this  Waste  ?  225 

6.  The  work  of  the  English  and  Scotch  Missionary 

Societies  in  Africa.  History  of  Church  Mission- 
ary Society,  III,  79-81.  History  of  Protestant 
Missions  (Warneck),  189-236. 

7.  The  work  of  the  American  Societies  in  Africa. 

History  of  Protestant  Missions  (Warneck), 
189-236. 

8.  The  Congo  Basin  and  the  Congo  Missions.    Hist. 

of  Church  Missionary  Society,  I,  18;  II,  382; 
III,  80,  81,  807. 

9.  Bishop  Hannington.     Hist.  Protestant  Missions, 

228.    History  of  Church  Missionary  Society  (see 
Index). 
10.  Contribution  of  the  missionaries  to  the  languages 
of  Africa.     History  of  Church  Missionary  Soci- 
ety (see  Index  for  Langauge,  also  Translations). 

Subjects  for  Advanced  Investigation. 

1.  The  present  missionary  forces  in  Africa— their  op- 

portunities and  their  immediate  needs. 

2.  The    present    political    situation    in    Africa— the 

spheres  of  influence  of  the  powers. 

3.  The  railroad,  steamboat,  telegraph,  and  cable  lines 

of  Africa. 

4.  The  cities  of  Africa  and  their  recent  development. 

5.  The  possibility  of  evangelizing  Africa  in  this  gen- 

eration. 


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